2006 Ohio Revised Code - 2915.04. Public gaming.
(A) No person, while at a hotel, restaurant, tavern, store, arena, hall, or other place of public accommodation, business, amusement, or resort shall make a bet or play any game of chance or scheme of chance.
(B) No person, being the owner or lessee, or having custody, control, or supervision, of a hotel, restaurant, tavern, store, arena, hall, or other place of public accommodation, business, amusement, or resort shall recklessly permit those premises to be used or occupied in violation of division (A) of this section.
(C) Divisions (A) and (B) of this section do not prohibit conduct in connection with gambling expressly permitted by law.
(D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of public gaming. Except as otherwise provided in this division, public gaming is a minor misdemeanor. If the offender previously has been convicted of any gambling offense, public gaming is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(E) Premises used or occupied in violation of division (B) of this section constitute a nuisance subject to abatement under
Chapter 3767. of the Revised Code.
HISTORY: 134 v H 511 (Eff 1-1-74); 149 v H 512. Eff 4-3-2003.
Not analogous to former RC § 2915.04 (RS § 6933; S&C 666; 29 v 442; GC § 13056; Bureau of Code Revision, 10-1-53), repealed 134 v H 511, § 2, eff 1-1-74.
19xx Committee Report or Comment.
1974 Committee Comment to H 511
This section represents an exception to the general rule of Chapter 2915., insofar as it prohibits a broader range of conduct than the business of gambling as such. If public gaming were permitted, it would offer a convenient ruse to those engaging in gambling as a business, and would pose a serious enforcement problem in sorting out whether a particular bet or game in a given case is for business or amusement.
Only betting and playing games of chance in public is prohibited. This includes the football bet consummated at the stadium, the crap game in an alley, and the poker game in the motel room. It does not prohibit schemes of chance in public, such as the raffle to raise money for uniforms for the high school band, or the bingo game held by a civic organization, so long as such schemes are not carried on for profit.
In addition to the criminal penalty, a civil sanction may be invoked to enforce this section, and premises used for public gaming may be abated as a nuisance under existing Chapter 3767. of the Revised Code.
Public gaming is a minor misdemeanor. If the offender has a prior conviction of a gambling offense, public gaming is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
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