Ohio Not Backing Down, Gov Says Kalshi Is Equal to Illegal Gambling

Prediction markets have once again come under fire in Ohio, with Gov. Mike DeWine calling out the sector as “illegal gambling” and arguing that state laws ought to be applied to operators such as Kalshi. Gov. DeWine said that the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will now allow the Buckeye State to leverage its state gaming laws against sports event contracts, which have been the main issue for gaming regulators acorss the United States. Gov. DeWine Says State Can Enforce Gambling Laws on Kalshi Essentially, these contracts are available at age 18, as opposed to regular sports gambling, which begins at 21. While they are “traded,” these event contracts essentially come down to the same dynamic as sports wagering, argue regulators and the governor. Gov. DeWine did not mince his words criticizing the segment: “These so-called prediction markets—which are really gambling, nothing more than that—they’re just trying to get around the law, don’t want to play by the same rules everybody else does, and they don’t want to be regulated by the state. And we think that’s wrong.” Gov. DeWine argued that prediction markets were gambling and that people who participated in them were also “gambling,” even though they would use another term to describe the activity. The governor got a little more crass, stating: “If it’s a pig, it’s a pig. If we call that pig a sheep, it’s still not a sheep. It’s a pig. These guys are pigs. They are gambling, and they don’t want to pay anything. They just want to have a free ride. So we will certainly enforce the law.” Federally Regulated “Pigs” Ohio will likely continue with its enforcement of local state gaming laws locally and this will mean that Kalshi would have a choice to make – suspend event contracts in the state or risk further legal action from Ohio in case of non-compliance. Kalshi and other prediction markets have been known to comply with such measures, as one of their argument runs that subjecting them to state gaming laws could open them to liability. However, Kalshi is unlikely to back down and will continue to exhaust legal means to fight back and challenge any attempt to shut it down – as it offers federally regulated products, the company has now repeatedly argued.