Can cheating at bingo land you in jail? Here’s what Ohio law says about cheating at sports & games
Cheaters never prosper in Ohio.
At least, that’s what section 2915.05 of Ohio’s criminal gambling law is meant to prevent.
Under the law, it is illegal to cheat, defraud, facilitate a fraud or corrupt the outcome of any of the following:
- The subject of a bet;
- A contest of knowledge, skill or endurance that is not an athletic or sporting event;
- A scheme or game of chance; and
- Bingo.
The law also says it is illegal to throw (deliberately corrupt or lose) an athletic or sporting event.
The law is general enough to apply to every competition and every sport, from Little League baseball to professional football. Do you think those dance scores look a little sus? Did you record a parent feeding answers to a spelling bee contestant? This law has you covered.
The most noteworthy recent example happened at a fishing tournament at Cleveland’s Gordon Park last year.
According to an account from the Associated Press, Jacob Runyan, 43, of Ashtabula, and Chase Cominsky, 36, of Hermitage Pennsylvania won a new boat worth $100,000 by fishing the biggest walleye in the competition.
Unfortunately, Jason Fischer, Walleye Trail tournament director, noticed something fishy (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun). When he cut the freshwater fish open, he discovered walleye filets and lead weights stuffed inside the winning fish.
The pair later pleaded guilty to cheating and unlawful ownership of wild animals.
In addition to giving up the boat and missing out on $28,000 in prizes, Runyan and Cominsky were sentenced to 10 days in jail and a three-year suspension of their fishing licenses last March.
Cheating in Ohio is a misdemeanor for the first offense, but increases to a fifth-degree felony if the perpetrator has a conviction for gambling or theft.
Throwing a game is a fifth-degree felony on the first offense and fourth-degree felony for any subsequent offense.
This story was originally published November 30, 2023 at 5:49 PM.
