Legalizing sports betting was my biggest mistake, says Ohio governor

admin — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 23:43:19 +0000

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has declared legalizing sports betting as his biggest mistake. DeWine signed off on legislation to approve sports betting in 2021, but has become increasingly disenchanted with the industry amid scandals and a rise in problem gambling.

“What I did not anticipate — and I should have — is the massive, massive amount of money that these gambling companies would come in with their advertising and they flood the airways,” DeWine said at last week’s Columbus Metropolitan Club forum.

“More Ohioans are gambling and losing money, and athletes are being abused online as a result of sports betting,” he added.

Ohio launched its sports betting market in 2023, and the state allows wagering on esports through licensed sportsbooks if the events are approved by the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

Ohio law specifically recognizes “esports events” as regulated competitive video-game contests, meaning sportsbooks can legally offer esports markets alongside traditional sports betting.

Microbetting Playing With Fire

DeWine has been particularly outspoken about his opposition to microbetting. Microbetting is in-play wagering during sports events, such as the next pitch in baseball or the next map in esports.

After two Cleveland Guardians players were arrested for suspicious betting activity on their pitches, DeWine called for a ban on the markets. Unable to secure the agreement of the MLB and sportsbooks, he eventually settled for a stake limit of $200.

He said a prohibition of the bets “needs to be holistic, it needs to be universal,” adding that sports leagues are “just playing with fire” by allowing the bets. “I mean, they are just asking for more and more trouble, their failure to address this.”

In-play betting is dominant in esports, with as much as 86% of wagers placed on Dota 2 coming from live wagers. This is far above the 55% rate across all sports.

Niche esports events are also attracting more betting, which can increase integrity risks as players in lower-tier events are tempted to manipulate their performances for betting purposes.

Will Other States Heed DeWine’s Warning?

With DeWine declaring legalizing sports betting as his biggest mistake, it may lead to other states questioning whether to expand legal gambling options.

In nearby Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear vetoed a wide-ranging gambling bill last month. Efforts to expand gambling in Minnesota and Mississippi also stalled this year, although Wisconsin is set to launch online betting after approving a bill last month.

DeWine warns the states that have not yet launched online markets against opening that can of worms. Now that it’s live and legal in Ohio, there’s little chance of reversing the law. DeWine’s term as Governor is set to come to an end next year.

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Bank of England governor warns AI may need to be rationed because of energy limits

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 06:12:32 +0000

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BoE’s Bailey says AI will soon do more than power grids can handle, forcing trade-offs between healthcare, defence, and other sectors.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned on Friday that artificial intelligence may need to be rationed because the power supply cannot keep up with its capabilities. He said companies and governments face “very big social choices” as energy constraints force trade-offs between sectors. The question is not whether AI can do more, but whether there is enough electricity to let it.

“AI is probably going to fairly soon be at a point where it can do more things, more big things than we have the power supply to achieve,” Bailey said at an event in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, with Bloomberg’s Stephanie Flanders and former Cabinet minister Ed Balls.

He framed the dilemma as a choice between competing priorities. “Do we want to make more very big breakthroughs in health?” he asked. Or “do we want to make more breakthroughs in drone technology to fight the Russians in Ukraine?” Bailey said the issue of potential trade-offs was recently raised with him by the head of a large AI firm, whom he did not name.

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The concern is not theoretical. The EU recently asked households to cut electricity use during peak hours because AI data centres are straining the grid. US utilities plan to spend $1.4 trillion on infrastructure by 2030 to cope with the data centre boom. Every megawatt allocated to AI is a megawatt unavailable for housing or manufacturing.

Bailey has previously argued that the UK economy is stuck between waves of technological innovation. The last wave was the internet. He sees AI as the most likely candidate to be the next general-purpose technology, but has cautioned that productivity benefits will take time to materialise.

On employment, Bailey was less alarmed. He said AI will both create and destroy jobs, pointing to roles like data scientists as examples of new positions that will emerge. “There will be jobs that don’t exist anymore,” he added, but signalled he is not concerned about a surge in mass unemployment.

That tracks with broader warnings that the UK’s AI ambitions may collide with its climate commitments. Bailey’s comments suggest the collision extends beyond carbon: the fundamental constraint may be physical infrastructure that simply cannot be built fast enough.

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governor – Gaming Master

Legalizing sports betting was my biggest mistake, says Ohio governor

Microbetting Playing With Fire

Will Other States Heed DeWine’s Warning?

Bank of England governor warns AI may need to be rationed because of energy limits

TL;DR