Ohio Casino Control Commission sends cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com
The move follows a similar cease-and-desist from the New Jersey gaming regulator.
Key Points
- Three online sportsbooks were found to be in breach of Ohio law
- According to reports, they were offering sports betting without a license from the local gambling commission
- If the companies do not adhere to the cease-and-desist terms, further legal action could take place
The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) has sent three cease-and-desist letters to sportsbooks operating in the state: Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com.
The letters are similar to those recently sent by the NJ Department of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE), which also claimed the sites were offering unauthorized sports wagering.
Following an investigation by the OCCC into the websites, all three were found to offer ‘event contracts’, which would let players place money on one of two outcomes and ultimately win or lose money based on the outcome of that game.
As Matt Schuler, OCCC Executive Director, puts it, “plainly stated, [it] is operating online sports gaming.”
Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com were all found to be offering this proxy form of sports betting without the necessary license in the state of Ohio.
In January, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) asked both Crypto.com and Kalshi to verify how its Super Bowl LIX contacts complied with regulatory requirements regarding sports betting.
It’s also worth noting that Kalshi had appointed Donald Trump Jr. as its new Strategic Advisor at the start of January.
Despite Trump Jr. stating that he “immediately knew [he] had to contribute to their mission” after using the Kalshi website to access the political prediction market on the night of the election, the CFTC had previously removed all betting options from the site.
Schuler continues: “While Kalshi may assert that the offerings are not sports gaming or gambling, Kalshi is trying to act like a regulated, licensed sportsbook”.
Good to know: One of the defining points of this argument is the fact that Kalshi recently announced that it would be partnering with IC360, a firm specializing in comprehensive monitoring and compliance solutions for sports and sports betting
All three of the websites also allowed customers under the age of 21 to sign up, which is a “flagrant disregard” of Ohio’s gambling laws.
In addition, none of the sites were robust in their consumer protection, as Ohioans who had self-excluded through the TimeOut Ohio Program would still have access to the three proxy sportsbooks mentioned above.
If the sites do not abide by the letters, Schuler has emphasized that this “may result in the Commission pursuing all legal remedies and actions” across administrative, civil and criminal sanction avenues.
However, Kalshi’s CEO Tarek Mansour recently took to Twitter (X) to share the company’s plans to take legal action against the states of Nevada and New Jersey, following recent rulings which have looked to shut down its sports betting markets.
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