A small township in Ohio, after months of debate, has officially banned the opening of new poker clubs.

The same rule applies to medical marijuana dispensaries in Perkins Township, a community within the Sandusky metropolitan area. But local card players can still legally play live poker, they’ll just have limited options.

Where Can Locals Play Poker Legally?

Ship it Poker Club within the Perkins Twp. opened in March of last year. It has since been the only poker room within a 60-mile radius, with card rooms such as JACK Casino being the closest about an hour away in Cleveland.

The poker room in the Sandusky area operates as a private membership club and does not collect rake, but instead charges players daily or lifetime membership fees and $10 per hour seat fees (less if purchasing 12 or more hours all at once).

Perkins Twp. officials, during a April 2024 public meeting, put a moratorium on preventing new card rooms from opening within the township. Local officials claimed at the time the measure was unrelated to Ship it Poker Club, a business that received all the required permits to legally operate. But the moratorium, a temporary prohibition, came just one month later.

The poker room ban was set to last for 10 months, but Ship it Poker Club was exempt as the rule only applied to those attempting to open new poker clubs. Setting a temporary ban, according to city officials, was to " allow the township time to continue to research current law and determine how these businesses should be regulated,” according to the Sandusky Register.

There is no longer a temporary ban on card rooms in Perkins. As of late January, the ban is now permanent and it also applies to marijuana dispensaries and vape shops. But the ban still only applies to new poker rooms, meaning Ship it Poker Club, which offers cash games and tournaments, can continue to legally operate within the Perkins Twp.

The township determined that using zoning regulations was the most efficient way to regulate poker clubs. As for the medical marijuana dispensaries in town, Perkins’ new law permits for two such businesses. There are currently two legal dispensaries within the township, both of which can remain open, but no new dispensaries are permitted. Ohio became the 24th state to legalize marijuana in November 2023.

Ohio, a Rust Belt state with over 12 million residents, has limited traditional poker room options. But there are some rake-free membership-based clubs such as Ship it Poker Club and the Reserve Poker Club in Toledo, a Northwest Ohio city about an hour from Detroit, Michigan.

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