Ohio reportedly orders 10 prediction market firms to stop sports contracts by 16 October

Yogonet reports that the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) has told 10 prediction market operators and brokers to end their sports event contract offerings in Ohio, with a compliance deadline of 16 October.

What happened

The recipients must halt the contracts and confirm to the commission that they have done so by 16 October, according to Yogonet's report.

Under the notices, the companies may not:

• ask for or accept Ohio residents' orders on sports event contracts; or.
• operate either as a futures commission merchant or as a designated contract market that offers such contracts to people in Ohio.

The OCCC said that failure to comply could result in administrative, civil, nuisance or criminal proceedings.

Kalshi was not among the recipients. Yogonet reported that this was most likely because Ohio is already in litigation with that operator.

Why it matters

Affiliates and media buyers promoting any of the 10 named platforms for sports contracts to Ohio residents could need to check their campaigns and tracking against the 16 October deadline. The notices bar the companies from soliciting orders from Ohio residents, so traffic aimed at those products in the state could be affected. Operators with Ohio-facing contract offerings may want to confirm with counsel what the notices require of them.

The notices went to both prediction market operators and brokers. That suggests the OCCC is treating sports event contracts as a licensing matter regardless of the recipient's primary business. Companies whose main product is trading or payments, and which offer such contracts as a side line, could face the same questions about sports gaming licences.

The legal picture remains split. Yogonet reported that a federal judge in Illinois recently found that Kalshi's contracts were likely swaps and that parts of the state's gambling laws were likely preempted. Operators active in several states could therefore face different outcomes depending on the circuit. This is likely to keep state-by-state compliance reviews on the agenda for prediction market firms.

Licensed Ohio sportsbooks could see some competitive effect, depending on how far the 10 companies comply.

What's next

The 16 October deadline is the next fixed date: by then, the companies are required to end the contracts and report their compliance to the commission. Ohio's litigation with Kalshi is ongoing.