Ohio Constitution Fixes Casinos in Four Cities

Ohio voters created this framework directly, bypassing the legislature entirely. On November 3, 2009, they approved State Issue 3, 53% to 47%, adding Section 6 to Article XV of the Ohio Constitution and authorizing casino gaming statewide for the first time. Subsection (C)(1) names four, and only four, locations: one casino each within the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo, and one within Franklin County (the site later built as Hollywood Casino Columbus). Each location is further defined in the constitution itself by acreage and tax parcel numbers, not by any city's zoning map, Cleveland's site runs roughly 61 acres in Cuyahoga County, Franklin County's about 113.8 acres, Cincinnati's about 20.4 acres, and Toledo's about 44.2 acres.

Subsection (C)(8) is the operative zoning override: it states that only one casino facility may operate in each of those four locations "notwithstanding any provision of the Constitution, statutes of Ohio, or a local charter and ordinance." That language means no municipality, county, or home-rule charter can zone in a fifth casino or block one of the four constitutionally sited facilities through local land-use authority, the siting decision was made permanently at the ballot box, not by any planning commission.

Subsection (C)(4) creates the Ohio Casino Control Commission and gives it exclusive licensing and regulatory authority over casino operators, their management companies, key employees, and gaming-related vendors at all four facilities. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3772 implements the amendment; R.C. 3772.01(C) defines "casino facility" by direct cross-reference back to Article XV, Section 6(C)(9), keeping the statutory and constitutional definitions locked together. Any change to the site count or locations requires another constitutional amendment, not an ordinance or a Commission rule.

There's no local zoning appeal or variance process here: the four-site cap is constitutional, so no city council or board of zoning appeals can authorize a fifth casino. Operating casino gaming outside a licensed facility, or violating Commission licensing rules under R.C. Chapter 3772, exposes a person to criminal penalties under R.C. 3772.99: a first-degree misdemeanor on a first offense, escalating to a fifth-degree felony for a subsequent offense, plus civil penalties the Commission can levy directly.