Ohio sports betting and fantasy sports license holders have been ordered to end business dealings with unlicensed sports prediction market operators and confirm compliance by Oct. 30 or face regulatory action.
- Ohio regulators ordered gaming licensees to stop supporting prediction market operators offering sports event contracts in the state.
- Noncompliance could trigger investigations, license suspensions, revocations, or other regulatory penalties.
- The latest warning comes weeks after 10 operators were sent a cease-and-desist order.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) sent a warning letter, dated Oct. 20, less than a month after regulators dispatched cease-and-desist orders to 10 prediction market operators.
In the latest attempt to curb prediction markets, regulators told operators, suppliers, and certified service providers licensed by Ohio that the OCCC was “deeply concerned by reports that certain commission licensees continue to facilitate, support, or otherwise provide services to entities offering sports event contracts.”
Services under scrutiny
The letter, signed by OCCC interim executive director Andromeda Morrison, doesn’t specify which Buckeye State licensees are in the commission’s crosshairs, but it noted operators that directly or indirectly offer non-sports event contracts are not in violation of state gaming laws.
The OCCC cited reports of licensees providing liquidity, market-making, integrity monitoring, equipment, data security, and other technology services to prediction market operators.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account“The commission’s position on unlicensed sports events contracts has been clear and consistent since early 2025: offering sports event contracts to persons located in Ohio constitutes sports gaming under Ohio law and may not be conducted without appropriate licensure from the commission,” the regulatory body wrote in the letter.
Potential consequences
Licensees must confirm their compliance with the notice by Oct. 30 and preserve records supporting their responses. Failure to comply could prompt an investigation and potentially lead to license denial, nonrenewal, suspension, or revocation, the OCCC warned.
“The commission expects all licensees to take appropriate steps to ensure that their business relationships and operations remain consistent with Ohio law and the obligations associated with licensure, certification, or application,” the OCCC wrote. “A licensee’s decision to provide services to, partner with, or otherwise support an entity engaged in unlicensed sports gaming in Ohio reflects on the licensee’s character, integrity, honesty, and reputation.
“Such conduct also undermines public confidence in Ohio’s regulated sports gaming and fantasy contest markets.”
The OCCC noted that prediction market sites allow customers as young as 18 to trade sports contracts, while Ohio requires sports bettors to be at least 21. The commission also said prediction market operators are not subject to Ohio's approved wagering markets or responsible gambling requirements.
Ohio escalates prediction market fight
Earlier this month, the OCCC sent cease-and-desist orders to 10 prediction market operators and brokers, including Polymarket, Coinbase, Robinhood, and Novig, directing them to stop offering sports event contracts in Ohio and confirm compliance by Oct. 16.
Gov. Mike DeWine said earlier this week that he was seeing ads for trading exchanges while watching a baseball game, which he said is in violation of the cease-and-desist order.
“It’s clear this is betting,” DeWine said, per the Ohio Capital Journal. “It’s clear this is gambling. It’s nothing else.”
Kalshi was not among the 10 recipients because it is already involved in litigation with Ohio over the state's authority to regulate sports event contracts. Ohio fined Kalshi $5 million for offering sports event contracts in the state.
