Ohio Regulators Order Robinhood, Kalshi, Crypto.com to Cease Sports Event Markets

• Ohio Casino Control Commission sent cease-and-desist notices to three companies
• The commission ordered Robinhood, Kalshi, and Crypto.com to cease its sports event contract markets
• Ohio joins New Jersey and Nevada in ordering Robinhood and Kalshi to cease the markets

Ohio gaming regulators are now taking their shot at shutting down sports event markets in the Buckeye State.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission announced it has sent three cease-and-desist notices to Robinhood, Kalshi, and Crypto.com, ordering the companies to remove their sport event prediction contract markets from the state.

The commission determined that the markets “meet the definition of sports gaming under the law, which requires licensure to be legally offered in Ohio.”

Joining Nevada, New Jersey

The Ohio Casino Control Commission has joined Nevada and New Jersey gaming regulators in ordering the companies to cease the markets, determining they are too close to licensed sports betting.

“Purchasing a contract based on which team a person thinks will win a sporting event is no different than placing a bet through a traditional sportsbook,” said Ohio Casino Control Commission Executive Director Matthew Schuler in a press release. “The only difference is that these event contracts do not have the consumer protections required under Ohio law and are accessible to Ohioans under 21 years of age. The commission must take action to fulfill its statutory responsibilities and ensure the integrity of sports gaming in Ohio.”

The commission has ordered the companies cease the markets no later than Monday, April 14.

The commission is also the first state in the country to send a cease-and-desist to Crypto.com to prohibit its sports event contract markets. Crypto.com was the first company to make the markets available to customers this past December.

In the cease-and-desist notices, the Ohio Casino Control Commission warns the three companies that it can impose a “civil penalty or fine in an amount equal to the money or value of the property” the company has unlawfully obtained or retained by offering the sports event contracts to the citizens of Ohio.

Schuler also took aim at the companies offering their contracts to Ohio citizens under the age of 21, noting in the cease-and-desist orders it is a “flagrant disregard of Ohio’s statutory gambling age limit.”

A failure to company with the notices may result in the commission “pursuing all legal remedies and actions” against the companies.

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Will Kalshi Sue Ohio Casino Control Commission?

Following the latest round of cease-and-desist notices, it remains to be seen if Kalshi will follow suit in Ohio and sue the regulatory gaming body the same way it did in New Jersey and Nevada.

KalshiEX filed lawsuits against both the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJ DGE) and Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) this past week for cease-and-desist notices sent to the company regarding their sports event prediction markets.

The company believes neither of the state regulatory bodies have the right to intrude on the government’s “exclusive” authority to regulate prediction markets.

Counsel for Kalshi argues that Congress previously gave the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) exclusive jurisdiction to regulate futures trading on approved exchanges. As the CFTC has allowed Kalshi to launch its sports event contract markets, state law cannot “intrude on the comprehensive federal scheme for regulating designated exchanges.”