Sports Event Contracts on Their Way Out in Ohio

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) has sent numerous cease-and-desist letters to companies in the state offering sports event contracts, which the regulator maintains are illegal under local laws. OCCC Sees More Companies Comply with Its Cease-and-Desist Letter A total of 10 companies have been named, including Coinbase, Gemini, Moomoo Financial, Novig, Plus500US, Polymarket, ProphetX, Robinhood, Underdog Predict, and Webull Financial, half of which have acquiesced and complied with the enforcement. Four new companies have complied with the OCCC’s preliminary enforcement action, with Robinhood, Gemini, and MooMoo Financial now pulling out of the state, and have already cut all such offers. Coinbase has already complied with the regulator’s request earlier, with the total number of companies that have followed the OCCC’s cease-and-desist letters now brought up to five; the other company to have complied is Pplus500US. But not everyone is playing ball. Polymarket and Underdog are arguing that the OCCC is overstepping its reach by trying to subject sports event contracts to state gambling laws. Kalshi has already suffered a setback in the state, with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against the company in late September. The outcomes of Underdog and Polymarket’s cases are still to be resolved, with the OCCC likely to gain the upper hand here as well. In the meantime, Novig, ProphetX and Webull have not yet confirmed whether they intend to comply just yet.