Ohio Orders 10 Prediction Markets to Stop Sports Betting by October 16, 2026

Ohio has ordered ten prediction market operators and associated financial brokers to stop offering sports-event contracts in the state and to confirm compliance in writing by October 16, 2026. The Ohio Casino Control Commission issued the demand after concluding those services require a state sports-betting licence and must follow Ohio gambling rules, including the minimum gambling age of 21.

What the OCCC has told operators and brokers

The Ohio Casino Control Commission is asking for written confirmation that the listed firms will cease offering sports betting products to Ohio residents by the October 16 deadline. The commission said failure to comply could trigger civil, administrative or criminal enforcement. The directive covers both prediction-market platforms and brokers that provide access to those markets.

The companies named in the OCCC notice are Underdog, Gemini Titan, Coinbase, ProphetX, Novig, Robinhood Derivatives, Polymarket US, Plus500US Financial Services, Moomoo Financial and Webull Financial. The commission also singled out firms that provide brokerage access to prediction products, treating that distribution as within its regulatory remit.

Why Ohio says a licence is required

Ohio requires operators offering sports betting to hold a state licence and to enforce a minimum gambling age of 21. The commission distinguishes licensed Ohio sportsbooks from federally regulated financial exchanges and asserts that a listing on a federal exchange does not remove the state licensing requirement.

"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," said Andromeda Morrison, Interim Executive Director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

The OCCC frames the action as consumer protection and statutory enforcement: platforms offering sports-event prediction contracts without a state licence are operating outside the state's regulatory framework.

How federal court decisions intersect with Ohio's position

A federal court ruling in Illinois had previously favoured Kalshi and Coinbase, finding that certain sports-event contracts were likely to qualify as swaps under federal commodities law. That decision did not deter Ohio. On September 25, 2026, the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a separate ruling that the Commodity Exchange Act does not pre-empt state gambling laws in Ohio or Tennessee. The appeals court also found that Kalshi had not established its sports contracts qualified as swaps under federal law.

Ohio has leveraged that Sixth Circuit decision to broaden enforcement beyond Kalshi and to target a list of ten other platforms and brokers. Kalshi itself remains the subject of separate litigation in Ohio but was not included in the latest OCCC order, according to the commission's notice.

The practical implications for platforms, brokers and users

Operators that continue to offer sports predictions to Ohio residents face multiple compliance risks. The OCCC can pursue:

• civil penalties under state statutes

• administrative actions against licences or applications

• criminal prosecution where state law permits

For brokers that simply provide market access, the commission's position is that distribution of sports-event contracts to Ohio customers is a regulated activity if the contracts amount to sports betting under state law.

Robinhood previously received a cease-and-desist order from Ohio in March 2025; the new October 16 demand expands enforcement to multiple firms at once. Firms named in the OCCC notice will need to decide whether to withdraw Ohio-facing products, adjust geofencing and customer-acceptance controls, or pursue licensing in Ohio where permissible.

Market and regulatory context for operators

Platforms that sit on federally regulated exchanges have argued federal law governs their products. Ohio's recent action demonstrates a different state-level calculus: the commission is treating sports-event prediction contracts as falling within state gambling statutes unless an operator holds an Ohio sports-betting licence and complies with consumer-protection measures, including the age limit.

The Sixth Circuit's September 25 ruling narrows the pre-emption argument in this region of the country by explicitly saying the Commodity Exchange Act does not override state gambling rules in Ohio or Tennessee. That judicial posture gives state regulators a clearer pathway to insist on licensing and to pursue enforcement in their jurisdictions.

What operators and vendors should be doing now

Operators and brokerage platforms with any exposure to Ohio customers should review their product routing, geolocation and customer on-boarding processes immediately. Key steps include:

1. Verifying whether any sports-event contracts are accessible to Ohio IP addresses or accounts.

2. Implementing or tightening geofencing and customer-acceptance rules for Ohio residents.

3. Assessing licence eligibility and whether to pursue a state sports-betting licence or withdraw the product from the market.

Compliance and platform vendors will be watching how the OCCC enforces the October 16 deadline and whether the commission pursues civil or criminal actions against non-compliant firms. Operators that rely on financial-market arguments for product classification face a state regulator that asserts those arguments do not exempt them from Ohio law.

How this ties into broader regulatory scrutiny

The OCCC action follows earlier state-level interventions; Robinhood's March 2025 cease-and-desist is the most visible prior example. The latest multi-firm demand signals that Ohio intends to apply sports-betting rules to prediction markets broadly rather than treating each platform case-by-case. Stakeholders in the sports and financial-exchange intersection should expect heightened scrutiny in Ohio and possibly similar actions in neighbouring jurisdictions.

For operators focused on sports products, this is a regulatory risk that needs to be managed alongside licensing, player protection and age-verification obligations. Vendors providing geolocation, age verification and on-boarding solutions are likely to see renewed demand as platforms adapt to the October 16 compliance window.

For coverage of the regulatory angle, see the regulation and sports sections for continuing updates on enforcement and litigation developments.