It’s more money, more problems for the online prediction market Kalshi.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission said on Tuesday that it was fining Kalshi $5 million for unlicensed sports betting in the state.
“The Commission takes its regulatory responsibilities to ensure compliance with the law and the integrity of sports gaming in Ohio seriously,” the regulators said in a statement. “Kalshi’s refusal to stop offering sports gaming in Ohio necessitated the Commission to take action to uphold the requirements of Ohio law. “
This fine comes on the heels of a court loss Kalshi suffered in March. A judge in Ohio’s federal court ruled that Kalshi’s sports-related prediction market bets should be considered gambling and be regulated by the state.
In April 2025, the commission issued three cease and desist notices — to Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com — directing them to stop offering sports event contracts in the state by April 14, 2025. Kalshi sued Ohio and asked the court to grant an injunction against the casino regulators’ attempt to stop it from taking market bets.
Kalshi had asked the court to treat its sports-related market options as swaps, which would designate picks on its platform as a kind of investment.
The presiding judge, District Judge Sarah Morrison, ruled against Kalshi, saying she had an obligation to “avoid absurdity.” Swaps, she said, are “understood as a transaction involving financial instruments and measures that traditionally and directly affect commodity prices.”
“Currency exchange rates, the weather and energy costs all do that: the number of points scored in the Huskies-Bobcats game does not,” the judge said.
Kalshi said in a statement to Business Insider that it’s reviewing the gaming commission’s fine.
“We are disappointed in this latest development, especially considering our ongoing litigation with Ohio and recent rulings in other courts confirming our right to operate as a federally licensed exchange,” a Kalshi spokesperson said.
The company raised $1 billion last month at a $22 billion valuation, according to data provider PitchBook.
Kalshi’s expansion across the US is running into a range of state-level resistance. Regulators from Arizona to Nevada say its offerings may amount to unlicensed gambling.
The platform is also set to see more federal oversight from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Its enforcement chief, David Miller, said in March that he’s hiring more staff to crack down on insider trading on prediction markets.
