Ohio Sends Cease-and-Desist Notices to 10 Prediction Market Operators

• The Ohio Casino Control Commission recently sent cease-and-desist notices to 10 prediction market operators
• Notices were sent to operators offering “illegal” sports event contracts in the state
• Underdog, Polymarket, and Robinhood were among operators who received notices

The Ohio Casino Control Commission recently sent cease-and-desist notices to 10 prediction market operators they allege offer “illegal” sports event contracts in the Buckeye State.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) issued notices to 10 operators offering illegal, unlicensed sports betting in the state, citing a recent ruling from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in which the court ruled Ohio could enforce its state gaming laws against Kalshi.

“Because these wagers lack the protections Ohio law requires, particularly for young and vulnerable people, the Commission must take action to fulfill its statutory responsibilities, protect consumers, and maintain fairness and integrity in sports gaming across Ohio,” OCCC Interim Executive Director Andromeda Morrison said in a press release. “The Sixth Circuit’s ruling makes clear that sports event contracts are subject to Ohio’s gambling laws. The Commission expects these entities to cease their illegal gambling activity in Ohio immediately.”

Two Weeks to Cease

The OCCC ordered the following operators to cease offering sports event contracts in the state by no later than Friday, Oct. 16:

• Underdog
• Gemini Titan
• Coinbase
• Prophet X
• Novig
• Robinhood
• Polymarket
• Plus500
• Moomoo
• Webull

Noticeably, Kalshi is not one of the 10 operators to receive a cease-and-desist notice, most likely do to Ohio’s ongoing litigation against the prediction market operator.

Each notice informs the operator that its sports event contracts are tantamount to sports betting in Ohio. Any operator offering sports betting must be licensed to do so, according to the OCCC.

“Because Polymarket is offering unlicensed sports gaming and bookmaking or facilitating bookmaking in Ohio, the Commission demands that Polymarket 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. Polymarket 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,” Morrison wrote in Polymarket’s cease-and-desist notice, the same wording she used for each operator notice.

Failure to adhere to the notice can result in the OCCC pursuing all administrative, civil, nuisance, or criminal actions related to the issue.

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Agrees

The OCCC pointed to the recent decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which recently affirmed a denial of a Kalshi preliminary injunction motion in Ohio and reversed a granted preliminary injunction in Tennessee.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Kalshi did not show that its sports event contracts satisfied the statutory definition of a swap, noting that the Commodity Exchange Act “neither expressly nor impliedly preempts Ohio’s or Tennessee’s gambling laws.” The decision affirmed the Southern District of Ohio’s denial of a preliminary injunction motion from Kalshi and vacates the Middle District of Tennessee’s entry of a preliminary injunction.

“Accordingly, we hold that the CEA does not expressly preempt the states’ sports-betting laws because those laws do not directly regulate DCMs but have only incidental effects on them,” Circuit Court Judge Julia Smith Gibbons wrote in the ruling.

The three-judge panel affirmed the states can regulate sports event contracts through their own gambling laws.