TLDR Ohio Governor Mike DeWine says the state will take legal action against prediction market operators that offer sports contracts. The Ohio Casino Control Commission has sent cease-and-desist notices to Kalshi, Polymarket and Robinhood. A federal court ruled that Kalshi must follow Ohio law, and the company is challenging the decision. Two state bills would ban election contracts and treat sports event contracts as taxable gambling. Gambling harm experts warn that prediction markets let 18-year-olds trade, while Ohio’s sports betting age is 21.
Ohio is preparing to take further legal action against prediction market operators that offer contracts tied to sports. Governor Mike DeWine said the products break the state’s gambling laws.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission has already sent cease-and-desist notices to several companies. These include Kalshi, Polymarket and Robinhood.
DeWine said the state will move toward enforcement rather than relying only on warnings. He questioned why these platforms should offer sports-related bets without meeting the same rules as licensed sportsbooks.
Ohio Points to Its Existing Gambling Rules
Ohio has banned some types of sports betting since 2005. One example is betting on specific plays within a game.
State officials say these limits can apply to contracts on certain sporting events. They say this is true no matter how the platforms describe their products.
DeWine has also raised concerns about prediction market advertising, which he has seen during sporting events. He said the platforms are trying to avoid state oversight by operating under a different set of rules, according to The Statehouse News Bureau.
The central question is whether federal regulation allows prediction markets to sidestep state gambling laws. Kalshi says its event contracts fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, not state gaming regulators.
A federal court recently ruled that Kalshi must comply with Ohio