The Ohio Casino Control Commission sent cease-and-desist letters Friday to 10 prediction market operators and brokers offering sports event contracts, giving them until Oct. 16 to confirm in writing that they have stopped serving customers in the state.
States have long argued that prediction markets offering sports event contracts are conducting sports betting, which falls under state law. On Sept. 25, the Sixth Circuit agreed, ruling that Ohio can enforce its gambling laws against those contracts.
The 10 recipients:
- Coinbase
- Gemini Titan
- Moomoo Financial
- Novig
- Plus500US
- Polymarket
- Prophet X
- Robinhood Derivatives
- Underdog Predict
- Webull Financial
The list does not include Kalshi, which sued the commission and lost at the Sixth Circuit.
“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 statement. “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.”
What the letters demand
Each letter demands that the company stop offering or facilitating sports event contracts in Ohio. Nine of the letters, including Underdog’s, carried the same bolded paragraph:
“Because Underdog is offering unlicensed sports gaming and bookmaking or facilitating bookmaking in Ohio, the Commission demands that Underdog 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.”
DCMs, or designated contract markets, are the federally regulated exchanges where contracts are listed. FCMs, or futures commission merchants, are brokers that let customers trade on those exchanges.
Each letter warns that ignoring the demand could lead to administrative, civil, nuisance or criminal action. Offering unlicensed sports gaming is a felony in Ohio, and the OCCC wrote that it also amounts to bookmaking or facilitating bookmaking under the state’s criminal code.
The financial exposure could be significant. The OCCC said it can impose a civil penalty equal to the money each company obtained by offering sports event contracts to Ohioans. It may also pursue remedies against the companies’ officers, directors and parent companies.
The companies “shall notify the Commission in writing” within 14 days that they have stopped offering sports event contracts in Ohio.
Why Robinhood’s letter was different
Robinhood’s letter reads differently from the other nine. Rather than a first notice, the OCCC said it was “reasserting” the cease-and-desist it sent Robinhood in March 2025, and it sent the letter by email to Robinhood’s outside counsel, Kevin Orsini of Cravath.
The letter cites Robinhood’s own website, which says it offers sports event contracts as an FCM “through either KalshiEX LLC, ForecastEX, LLC or Rothera Exchange and Clearing LLC.” The OCCC also noted that Robinhood and Susquehanna International Group appear to jointly operate Rothera, a DCM and clearinghouse that lists sports event contracts.
“Based on the above, the Commission is now reasserting and reaffirming its notice to Robinhood that by continuing to offer or facilitate the offering of sports event contracts in Ohio without a sports gaming license, Robinhood is – in fact – violating Ohio law and must immediately cease doing so,” Morrison wrote.
That shaped Robinhood’s version of the bolded paragraph, which targets the company “either as an FCM or joint owner of a DCM.” It also reaches any FCM or DCM that “may offer” sports event contracts to Ohioans, broader than the “offers” wording in the other letters.
How Ohio got here
The OCCC first sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com in March 2025. Kalshi sued the commission last October.
At the time, the OCCC said it was “unpersuaded” that Kalshi’s sports event contracts were “preempted by federal law as Kalshi contends.” On March 9, a federal court in Ohio denied Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction. A month later, the OCCC moved to fine the company $5 million for operating unlicensed sports betting.
The commission held firm through Kalshi’s appeal, and the Sixth Circuit’s ruling last month cleared the way for Ohio to enforce its gambling laws against sports event contracts.
Leaving the NCPG over Kalshi
The OCCC left the National Council on Problem Gambling in June because of the organization’s relationship with Kalshi.
After Kalshi committed $2 million, the NCPG created a Financial Services & Trading membership category to accommodate the company. That did not sit well with Morrison, who wrote that the partnership did more than support problem gambling efforts.
“Instead, it seeks to legitimize an illegal sportsbook operating in Ohio and undercut the Commission’s efforts to eliminate this source of unlicensed gambling,” Morrison wrote. “At a minimum, it creates consumer confusion as to whether this prediction market platform carries the same protection as licensed sports books. It does not.”
The NCPG is now looking for a new leader after Executive Director Heather Maurer resigned effective Oct. 16. Her resignation comes after multiple organizations left the NCPG following the Kalshi agreement, including Michigan Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling.
