While Frank Sinatra sang about “regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention,” Mike DeWine was quick to mention his biggest regret during his seven years as governor: signing the bill to legalize sports gambling.

In a 60-minute interview earlier this week, DeWine said: “On the negative side, I’ve been pretty open about saying that if I had to do it over again I would not have signed the gaming bill. I don’t think I fully appreciated how many millions of dollars these gaming companies would spend coming into the state of Ohio to get more and more people addicted.”

DeWine, a Republican, said: “We’ve found the age group that is most vulnerable is the young males up to age 45, but certainly in the 20s and 30s. We’re seeing a lot of them becoming addicted. A lot of them make bad choices because they continue to gamble and to try to get their money back, and it just doesn’t work. That’s something if I had to do over again, I wouldn’t have done.”

DeWine in December 2021 signed legislation into law legalizing sports betting, which took effect Jan. 1, 2023. Operators pay a 10% tax on net revenue to the state for public education and problem gambling programs.

With scandals hitting professional baseball and basketball on prop bets — betting on something such as if a pitch is going to be a ball or strike — DeWine led the charge to get Major League Baseball and gaming operators to cap those particular bets at $200 and exclude them from parlays.

There were federal indictments a couple of weeks ago involving college basketball players shaving points by purposely not performing as well as they could allegedly for bribes so gamblers could profit. The Ohio Casino Control Commission restricted prop bets on college sports, effective March 1, 2024.

“It’s a problem particularly for our young people, young males,” DeWine said of sports gambling. “We know it’s a big, big problem. We have done some things.”

The $200 limit on MLB prop bets is “not exactly where I wanted to be, but it was a lot better than where we were,” DeWine said.

“We’re going to continue to look at this. I think that the other major leagues, other sports, need to really look at this. They’re playing with fire. The reason that people watch live sports on TV and watch it in person is because they think it’s real. They don’t think the fix is in. If they start thinking the fix is in or if they start questioning, hey, why did that pitcher throw that ball that far outside? Gee, he’s better than that, and they’re second-guessing everything, then the credibility of the game is in great jeopardy. I think the leagues are, frankly, playing with fire, and they need to get control of this.”

DeWine is a huge baseball fan and is part owner of a minor league team in Asheville, North Carolina.

REDISTRICTING POLICY

FOR OHIO

Regarding redistricting of congressional and state legislative lines, DeWine has talked for years about the need to change how it is done to get a more fair process in place. DeWine spoke against a constitutional amendment on the November 2024 ballot that would have given control over the maps to a 15-member citizens commission and taken it out of the hands of politicians.

In the lead-up to that, DeWine spoke of instituting a plan similar to one used in Iowa, where nonpartisan individuals draw lines with the maps approved by legislators. But after voters rejected the constitutional amendment, DeWine dropped the effort.

Asked if he would do anything after he is no longer governor less than a year from now, DeWine said no.

“My life experience is and my observation is that if you want to do something you need to do it while you’re in office,” he said. “You certainly have more persuasive ability than you do the day you leave office. So I’m not sure there’s any merit waiting for anything. I’ve been very clear that some version of the Iowa plan is a way to do it. I don’t see an appetite, frankly, in the Legislature to do this. But that’s certainly my position. I would sign a bill. I would advocate for it. I do advocate for it.”

The five Republicans, including DeWine, and the two Democrats on the Ohio Redistricting Commission agreed Oct. 31 to a new congressional map that favors Republicans 12-3. Currently, there are 10 Republicans and five Democrats representing Ohio in the U.S. House.

Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood, a commission member, said after the vote: “In private and public conversations, their threat was clear: if we refused a deal, Republicans intended to further gerrymander the state by enacting a 13-2 map on a party-line vote in November.”

DeWine told me: “We ended up actually getting Democrats and Republicans to agree. You could argue how that all comes about, but they ultimately did agree, which is better than not agreeing. You do have some competitive districts, which will be playing out in the next 10 months or so.”

Asked about the threat Democrats faced for a congressional map that was worse for them, DeWine said: “I understand. You can make that argument.”

David Skolnick covers local, state and national politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.