Report: Three Terms Laid Out For Ohio Pro Sports Teams to Access Potential Gambling Tax Windfall

 The Bengals could be getting additional funding to support upgrades at Paycor Stadium as part of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's push to increase sports betting taxes by 20-40% in the state.

The proposal was included in the state's first draft of fiscal policy for the 2026-27 year. Audacy's Daryl Ruiter broke down the stipulations to get a piece of the projected $130-180 million additional funding per year from the taxes.

There are three terms teams have to meet:

1.        A team agrees to play at least 30 years at the facility upon “completion of construction or renovation of the sports facility.”

2.        Excluding site acquisition costs, initial estimated construction costs for a new facility exceed $1 billion and the estimated renovation cost exceeds $100 million.

3.        At least 60% of the project cost has been “secured from sources other than state funds.”

The Bengals have committed to paying as much as $200 million for already-in-progress upgrades needed on the stadium, while the full overall project is expected to cost $1.25 billion. That's the figure the county landed on this past September across a projected four years of construction.

Check out the full update from Ruiter here.