Casinos will be built in Ohio after state voters approved the issue.

Casino fans could be heading to Ohio in the near future as the voters turned out in favour of allowing gaming houses in the Buckeye State.

With 53 per cent of people voting in favour of the issue, casinos will now be built in Cleveland, Toledo, Cincinnati and Columbus.

The victory at the ballot box will come as good news to gambling fans, but also to the state as a whole.

With Ohio's current unemployment level lying at more than ten per cent, the casino industry is set to generate a reported $4 billion (£2.4 billion) in economic benefits and around 40,000 new jobs.

Penn National Gaming, which owns horse racing tracks and operates casinos, spent more than $30 million on promoting the campaign and the advantages that gaming houses could bring to the state.

One voter, Elizabeth Groen, aged 56 from Anderson Township, a suburb of Cincinnati, told news agency the Associated Press that she was in favour of bringing casinos to Ohio.

"They are going everywhere else. It's time that Ohio gets on board," she said.

Pro-casino campaigners eventually saw the issue pass with a 53 per cent share of the vote.