Share 
Ohio is widening its crackdown on sports event contracts after winning a key federal appeal.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission sent cease-and-desist letters Oct. 2 to 10 prediction market operators and brokers, giving each until Oct. 16 to confirm in writing that it has stopped offering the contracts to people in Ohio.
The action reaches well beyond Kalshi, which sued the commission and lost its appeal.
Ten prediction markets receive notices
The commission targeted prediction markets and brokerage firms. The recipients are:
- Coinbase
- Gemini Titan
- Moomoo Financial
- Novig
- Plus500US
- Polymarket
- Prophet X
- Robinhood Derivatives
- Underdog Predict
- Webull Financial
Kalshi, the company at the center of the court fight, did not receive a new letter. It already faces a proposed $5 million fine from the commission.
Appeal ruling cleared the way
States have long argued that these contracts qualify as sports betting under state law. On Sept. 25, the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, ruling that Ohio can enforce its gambling laws against them.
The decision deepens a split among federal appeals courts. The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals previously sided with Kalshi in a New Jersey case, finding that a federal law bars states from regulating sports bets offered on prediction markets. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reached the opposite conclusion in August.
New Jersey asked the US Supreme Court on Sept. 2, weeks before the 6th Circuit ruling, to review the 3rd Circuit’s decision. The state wants the justices to decide whether states can regulate sports bets offered on prediction markets, and it told the court that more than 40 states have opposed Kalshi’s view of the legality of those bets, New Jersey Monitor reported.
It is not yet clear whether the justices will take up the case.
Commission says consumers need protection
Interim Executive Director Andromeda Morrison described the action as a consumer protection measure, saying the wagers “lack the protections Ohio law requires.” She said young people and other vulnerable groups face the greatest risk.
Morrison also said the 6th Circuit’s ruling confirms that the contracts fall under Ohio’s gambling laws. The commission expects the companies to end what it called illegal gambling activity immediately, she said.
What Ohio ordered
Each letter orders the company to stop offering or facilitating sports event contracts in Ohio. Nine of the letters, including the one to Underdog, share the same core paragraph. It bars soliciting or accepting orders from people in Ohio and operating a broker or exchange that offers the contracts there.
The letters use two industry terms: designated contract markets, or DCMs, which are federally regulated exchanges where contracts are listed, and futures commission merchants, or FCMs, which are brokers that help customers place trades on those exchanges.
The letters warn that ignoring the demand could lead to administrative, civil, nuisance or criminal action. Offering unlicensed sports gaming is a felony in Ohio, and the commission says it also amounts to bookmaking or facilitating bookmaking under the state’s criminal code.
The financial exposure could be significant. Under Ohio law, a civil fine could equal the money a company obtained by offering the contracts in the state. The commission also indicated that enforcement could reach parent companies, officers and directors. Each recipient has 14 days to confirm in writing that it has complied.
Robinhood receives another warning
Robinhood’s notice differs from the other nine because it is not a new enforcement action. The commission said it was reaffirming the cease-and-desist letter it first sent the company in March 2025, and it emailed the notice to Robinhood’s outside counsel, Kevin Orsini of Cravath.
Regulators cited Robinhood’s website, which says the company offers sports event contracts as a futures commission merchant through ForecastEX, KalshiEX or Rothera Exchange and Clearing. According to the commission, Robinhood and Susquehanna International Group appear to jointly operate Rothera, which is both a designated contract market and a clearinghouse.
As a result, Robinhood’s letter identifies the company as both a futures broker and a part-owner of an exchange. Its demand is also broader than the others, applying to any broker or exchange that may offer the contracts to Ohioans.
Problem gambling dispute continues
The commission’s clash with prediction markets has also spilled into the responsible gambling sector. Ohio left the National Council on Problem Gambling in June over the group’s ties to Kalshi. The council created a Financial Services & Trading membership category after Kalshi pledged $2 million.
In a letter explaining the decision, Morrison said the arrangement could legitimize what she called an illegal sportsbook. She also warned that it could lead consumers to believe prediction markets offer the same safeguards as licensed sportsbooks, which the commission says they do not.
Legal Sports Report originally reported that Ohio was not the only organization to leave. The Michigan Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling also ended their memberships.
The council’s executive director, Heather Maurer, has since resigned, effective Oct. 16, the same day Ohio expects the 10 companies to confirm compliance.
