The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) sent out 10 cease-and-desist letters Friday to prediction markets offering sports event contracts in the state. The letters were sent one week after the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the regulator could enforce its gambling rules against Kalshi.
Letters went out to Coinbase, Gemini Titan, MooMoo Financial, Novig Betting, Plus500US, Polymarket, Prophet X, Robinhood Derivatives, Underdog Predict, and WeBull Financial. The entities were given 14 days to respond and shutter their platforms.
This paragraph appeared in bold in every letter:
Because [platform name here] is offering unlicensed sports gaming and bookmaking or facilitating
bookmaking in Ohio, the Commission demands that [platform name here] cease and desist from offering, participating in offering, or facilitating those who offer sports event contracts in Ohio. This
includes soliciting or accepting orders for sports event contracts listed on DCMs from persons located in Ohio, as well as operating an FCM or DCM that offers sports event contracts to persons located in Ohio. [Platform name here] shall notify the Commission in writing no later than fourteen (14) days following the date of this letter that it has complied with this cease-and-desist notice.
The commission also wrote that it would pursue “all legal remedies and actions” against any company that does not comply. The circuit court decision allows the OCCC to apply its regulations to any prediction market, and because Kalshi had already sued the state and lost, it appears no letter was needed for it.
Should Ohio succeed in banning sports event contracts, it would join Michigan, Nevada, and Washington state, which have already done so. The Sixth Circuit decision also allows any other state in the circuit — Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee — to enforce its gambling laws. Tennessee’s case against Kalshi was combined with Ohio’s. Michigan previously began banning sports event contracts under a state court order.
Second letter to Robinhood
In the letters, OCCC interim Executive Director Andromeda Morrison made it clear that the state views sports event markets as illegal and references both a U.S. district court decision and the Sixth Circuit decision.
Per the letters, the OCCC previously sent a cease-and-desist letter to Robinhood on March 31, 2025. Kalshi sued the commission last October — after the letter was sent to Robinhood — and the commission then agreed to pause enforcing its gambling laws until the district and circuit courts ruled.
“In response to that [initial] notice, Robinhood stated that it was a futures commission merchant (”FCM”) that offered sports event contracts that were traded on KalshiEX LLC (“Kalshi”) (a designated contract market (“DCM”)), and maintained that the sports event contracts were swaps and that the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) preempted Ohio’s sports gaming laws,” Morrison wrote. She went on to write that that argument is invalid based on the Sixth Circuit’s decision.
Offering sports betting without a state license is a felony under Ohio law.
Tangled web
Three companies licensed to offer sports betting in Ohio — DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, and FanDuel — have entered the prediction market space but are not currently offering sports event contracts in Ohio. However, the OCCC in August 2025 sent a letter to operators suggesting that working with any company involved with sports event contracts in Ohio could put licenses at risk.
“Any business relationship between an Ohio sports gaming licensee (including its related entities or those under common ownership) with any entit(ies) offering or facilitating the offering of unlicensed sports gaming in Ohio calls into question the reputation of the licensee and the integrity of sports gaming in Ohio,” the agency wrote, under leadership of Executive Director Matt Schuler at the time.
So far, the OCCC has not acted on that threat despite DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel all working with suppliers and vendors that also work with Kalshi, Polymarket, or another prediction platform.
As an example, data provider Genius Sports in August announced a partnership with Kalshi for official league data. The company also has agreements with DraftKings and FanDuel. Last month, Genius announced the launch of Prediction.com, which itself doesn’t offer sports markets but links directly to Kalshi, Polymarket, Prophet X, and Underdog. Ads for all four have the phrase “Legal in USA” in the top right corner.
