Coinbase sets Nov. 13 end date for Ohio sports event contracts

Coinbase said it will end sports event contracts for Ohio customers by Nov. 13, joining Robinhood, Gemini and Moomoo Financial in withdrawing or curtailing such offerings after enforcement action by the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

Robinhood, Gemini and Moomoo had already stopped offering new Ohio sports-event contracts. Coinbase’s deadline leaves five of the 10 companies named in the commission’s orders either compliant or moving toward compliance, with Plus500US having become the first to do so on Oct. 21.

As we reported in October, Ohio had ordered 10 prediction-market operators to stop offering sports contracts to people in the state after sending cease-and-desist letters on Oct. 2. The companies were given 14 days to confirm compliance, a deadline that passed on Oct. 16.

The orders named Coinbase, Gemini Titan, Moomoo Financial, Novig, Plus500US, Polymarket, ProphetX, Robinhood Derivatives, Underdog and Webull Financial. Ohio maintains that the sports event contracts offered by the companies are illegal under state law, and warned that companies which ignored its directives could face civil, administrative or criminal consequences, including financial penalties linked to revenue from Ohio customers.

There is some difference in how the latest compliance status has been described. GamblingNews counted Coinbase among the five companies that had complied, while GamblingSites.com and iGaming Times reported that Coinbase had agreed to cease Ohio offerings on Nov. 13.

Polymarket and Underdog have sued the commission over the orders. Novig, ProphetX and Webull were still in discussions with the regulator or had not confirmed whether they would comply.

The Ohio action followed a September ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in litigation involving Kalshi. The court found Kalshi’s sports-event contracts were not swaps under federal commodities law and concluded that federal law would not displace Ohio gambling rules even if the contracts were swaps. Kalshi was not included in the 10 orders because it was already contesting Ohio’s authority in court.

Ohio is among at least 19 states that have taken regulatory or legal action against sports-prediction-market platforms. Coinbase separately agreed in October to halt new sports-related event contracts in Michigan and close open customer positions there, while related Sixth Circuit appeals continue.