§ 3763.01. Gaming contracts void.

(A) All promises, agreements, notes, bills, bonds, or other contracts, mortgages, or other securities, when the whole or part of the consideration thereof is for money or other valuable thing won or lost, laid, staked, or betted at or upon a game of any kind, or upon a horse race or cockfights, sport or pastime, or on a wager, or for the repayment of money lent or advanced at the time of a game, play, or wager, for the purpose of being laid, betted, staked, or wagered, are void.

(B) Sections 3763.01 to 3763.08 of the Revised Code do not apply to bingo as defined in section 2915.01 of the Revised Code or to any game of chance that is not subject to criminal penalties under section 2915.02 of the Revised Code.

§ 3763.02. Money lost at games may be recovered; exceptions.

If a person, by playing a game, or by a wager, loses to another, money or other thing of value, and pays or delivers it or a part thereof, to the winner thereof, such person losing and paying or delivering, within six months after such loss and payment or delivery, may sue for and recover such money or thing of value or part thereof, from the winner thereof, with costs of suit.

§ 3763.04. Suit by third party.

If a person losing money or thing of value, as provided in section 3763.02 of the Revised Code, within the time therein specified, and without collusion or deceit, does not sue, and effectively prosecute, for such money or thing of value, any person may sue for and recover it, with costs of suit, against such winner, for the use of such person prosecuting such suit.

§ 3763.05. Action for discovery.

A person, liable under sections 3763.01 to 3763.08, inclusive, of the Revised Code, may be compelled to answer, upon oath, interrogatories annexed to the petition for the purpose of discovery of his liability. Upon discovery and repayment of the money or other thing, the person discovering and repaying it, with costs, shall be acquitted and discharged from further punishment, penalty, or forfeiture, for winning such money or thing discovered and repaid.

§ 3763.08. Recovery of losses in lotteries.

A person who expends money or thing of value or incurs an obligation for the purchase of or to procure a lottery or policy ticket, hazard, or chance, or an interest therein, in or on account of lottery, policy, scheme of chance, game of faro, pool or combination, keno, or scheme of gambling, or a person dependent for support upon or entitled to the earnings of such person, or a citizen for the use of the person so interested, may sue for and recover from the person receiving such money, thing of value, or obligation, the amount thereof, with exemplary damages, which shall not be less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, and may join as defendants in such suit all persons having an interest in such lottery, policy, or scheme of chance, or the possible profits thereof, as backers, vendors, owners, or otherwise.

Chapter 2915 contains the Penal Code provisions on Gambling. 1974 Committee Comment to H 511

The fundamental thrust of new Chapter 2915. is to prohibit the business of gambling without forbidding gambling carried on for pleasure rather than profit.

Under the chapter, all forms of gambling and activities in aid of it are illegal if carried on as a business, or for personal profit, or as a significant source of income or livelihood. Otherwise, no form of gambling is illegal. Gambling in public is prohibited to avoid enforcement problems, and this represents a partial exception to the general rule in the chapter.

Cheating as such was not an offense under former law, but is an offense under Chapter 2915. regardless of whether the gambling activity in which it occurs is legal or illegal. For penalty purposes, cheaters are treated much the same as thieves under new section 2913.02 of the Revised Code. A simplified version of a former prohibition against "fixing" sporting events is also included in the chapter.

§ 2915.01 Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

(A) "Bookmaking" means the business of receiving or paying off bets.

(B) "Bet" means the hazarding of anything of value upon the result of an event, undertaking, or contingency, but does not include a bona fide business risk.

(C) "Scheme of chance" means a slot machine, lottery, numbers game, pool, or other scheme in which a participant gives a valuable consideration for a chance to win a prize, but does not include bingo.

(D) "Game of chance" means poker, craps, roulette, or other game in which a player gives anything of value in the hope of gain, the outcome of which is determined largely by chance, but does not include bingo.

(E) "Game of chance conducted for profit" means any game of chance designed to produce income for the person who conducts or operates the game of chance, but does not include bingo.

(F) "Gambling device" means any of the following:

(1) A book, totalizer, or other equipment for recording bets;

(2) A ticket, token, or other device representing a chance, share, or interest in a scheme of chance or evidencing a bet;

(3) A deck of cards, dice, gaming table, roulette wheel, slot machine, or other apparatus designed for use in connection with a game of chance;

(4) Any equipment, device, apparatus, or paraphernalia specially designed for gambling purposes;

(5) Bingo supplies sold or otherwise provided, or used, in violation of this chapter.

(G) "Gambling offense" means any of the following:

(1) A violation of section 2915.02, 2915.03, 2915.04, 2915.05, 2915.07, 2915.08, 2915.081 [2915.08.1], 2915.082 [2915.08.2], 2915.09, 2915.091 [2915.09.1], 2915.092 [2915.09.2], 2915.10, or 2915.11 of the Revised Code;

(2) A violation of an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States substantially equivalent to any section listed in division (G)(1) of this section or a violation of section 2915.06 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996;

(3) An offense under an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States, of which gambling is an element;

(4) A conspiracy or attempt to commit, or complicity in committing, any offense under division (G)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.

§ 2915.02 Gambling.

(A) No person shall do any of the following:

(1) Engage in bookmaking, or knowingly engage in conduct that facilitates bookmaking;

(2) Establish, promote, or operate or knowingly engage in conduct that facilitates any game of chance conducted for profit or any scheme of chance;

(3) Knowingly procure, transmit, exchange, or engage in conduct that facilitates the procurement, transmission, or exchange of information for use in establishing odds or determining winners in connection with bookmaking or with any game of chance conducted for profit or any scheme of chance;

(4) Engage in betting or in playing any scheme or game of chance as a substantial source of income or livelihood;

(5) With purpose to violate division (A)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section, acquire, possess, control, or operate any gambling device.

(B) For purposes of division (A)(1) of this section, a person facilitates bookmaking if the person in any way knowingly aids an illegal bookmaking operation, including, without limitation, placing a bet with a person engaged in or facilitating illegal bookmaking. For purposes of division (A)(2) of this section, a person facilitates a game of chance conducted for profit or a scheme of chance if the person in any way knowingly aids in the conduct or operation of any such game or scheme, including, without limitation, playing any such game or scheme.

(C) This section does not prohibit conduct in connection with gambling expressly permitted by law.

(D) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Games of chance, if all of the following apply:

(a) The games of chance are not craps for money or roulette for money.

(b) The games of chance are conducted by a charitable organization that is, and has received from the internal revenue service a determination letter that is currently in effect, stating that the organization is, exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.….

No person shall receive any commission, wage, salary, reward, tip, donation, gratuity, or other form of compensation, directly or indirectly, for operating or assisting in the operation of any game of chance.

(3) Bingo conducted by a charitable organization that holds a license issued under section 2915.08 of the Revised Code.

(F) Whoever violates this section is guilty of gambling, a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of any gambling offense, gambling is a felony of the fifth degree.

§ 2915.03 Operating a gambling house.

(A) No person, being the owner or lessee, or having custody, control, or supervision of premises, shall:

(1) Use or occupy such premises for gambling in violation of section 2915.02 of the Revised Code;

(2) Recklessly permit such premises to be used or occupied for gambling in violation of section 2915.02 of the Revised Code.

(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of operating a gambling house, a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a gambling offense, operating a gambling house is a felony of the fifth degree.

§ 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.

§ 2915.05 Cheating, corrupting sports.

(A) No person, with purpose to defraud or knowing that the person is facilitating a fraud, shall engage in conduct designed to corrupt the outcome of any of the following:
(1) The subject of a bet;
(2) A contest of knowledge, skill, or endurance that is not an athletic or sporting event;
(3) A scheme or game of chance;
(4) Bingo.
(B) No person shall knowingly do any of the following:
(1) Offer, give, solicit, or accept anything of value to corrupt the outcome of an athletic or sporting event;
(2) Engage in conduct designed to corrupt the outcome of an athletic or sporting event.
(C)(1) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of cheating. Except as otherwise provided in this division, cheating is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the potential gain from the cheating is five hundred dollars or more or if the offender previously has been convicted of any gambling offense or of any theft offense, as defined in section 2913.01 of the Revised Code, cheating is a felony of the fifth degree.
(2) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of corrupting sports. Corrupting sports is a felony of the fifth degree on a first offense and a felony of the fourth degree on each subsequent offense

§ 2915.07 Conducting illegal bingo.

(A) No person, except a charitable organization that has obtained a license pursuant to section 2915.08 of the Revised Code, shall conduct or advertise bingo. This division does not apply to a raffle that a charitable organization conducts or advertises.
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of conducting illegal bingo, a felony of the fourth degree.

Ohio Charitable Gaming Law