Kalshi vs. Ohio has been one of the busier prediction market court battles, and the company stepped up the conflict with a fresh lawsuit on Monday.
The operator sued the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) in state court on June 29 in an attempt to get a judge to block the gaming regulator from moving ahead with its plan to fine the firm $5m. The OCCC first revealed in April that it intended to fine Kalshi as recompense for offering what the commission described as unlicensed sports betting.
Gaming attorney Daniel Wallach first reported the new state court action.
Ohio vs. Kalshi: A timeline
Kalshi has now gone on the offensive in state court, while a long-running federal lawsuit remains pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Ohio was one of the first states to take the fight to the prediction market platform, in a feud that dates back more than 14 months.
- March 2025: The OCCC confirmed it sent a cease-and-desist order to Kalshi, as well as other prediction markets platforms, accusing it of offering unlicensed sports betting in the state.
- August 2025: The regulator warned its licensed sportsbooks that facilitating sports event contract trading anywhere in the U.S. could jeopardize their in-state licenses.
- October 2025: Kalshi sued the OCCC and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in federal court, alleging that the C&D and the letter to licensed sportsbooks proved the state was unlawfully “threatening to prohibit trading of event contracts.”
- March 2026: Federal judge Sarah Morrison denied Kalshi a preliminary injunction against Ohio officials, finding that the firm failed to prove it was entitled to the “extraordinary” temporary relief and determining among other things that sports contracts are not ‘swaps’ as intended to be federally regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). Kalshi quickly appealed the decision to the Sixth Circuit, where it now resides.
- April 2026: The Sixth Circuit judges rejected Kalshi’s emergency request for an injunction against Ohio while the appeal process plays out.
Kalshi deserves a jury, says state court complaint
At the time that the OCCC went public with its plan to fine Kalshi, the company’s Head of Communications Elisabeth Diana vowed that Kalshi would “protect our interests to the maximum extent provided by the law.”
Now, in its new complaint in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Kalshi’s counsel wrote that Ohio’s attempts to slap the company with a civil penalty of $5m violate its right to a trial by a civil jury under the Ohio Constitution.
The company asserted that Ohio’s actions warrant a permanent injunction. It also wants the court to make a declaratory judgment that Ohio has violated state laws.
“Kalshi is entitled to a permanent injunction enjoining the Commission from enforcing R.C. Chapter 3775 against Kalshi, and a declaration that (1) the enforcement of a statutory penalty under R.C. Chapter 3775 must occur in a forum that affords a jury, and (2) that R.C. Chapter 3775 fails to provide an intelligible principle for imposing a statutory penalty, such that R.C. Chapter 3775 may not be utilized as a basis for imposing civil penalties upon Kalshi,” reads part of the filing.
SBC Americas reached out to the Ohio Casino Control Commission for this story but had not heard back as of the time of publishing.
Meanwhile, Ohio plans a prediction markets tax
While all this is happening, Ohio legislators have suggested that it’s time to start licensing, regulating, and taxing sports prediction markets.
Sen. Bill DeMora’s Senate Bill 430 would amend state law to include sports event contract trading under the definition of legal sports betting in the Buckeye State. In doing so, it would recognize and legitimize sports prediction markets at the state level, but only when offered by a licensed platform.
Introduced in late April, the legislation would mandate that prediction market platforms must secure OCCC approval before accepting customers in the state, and must then pay tax and conform to state regulations like licensed sportsbooks.
The bill has gained no traction in the state legislature since being referred to the Senate Select Committee on Gaming in mid-May.
Kalshi has sued some other states, including Kentucky and Illinois, over legislators’ plans to implement similar licensing and taxation laws on prediction markets.
Meanwhile, the company suffered a hit in Michigan on Monday when a judge granted AG Dana Nessel a temporary restraining order, thereby ordering Kalshi to temporarily stop offering sports event contracts to Michiganders for an initial period of 14 days. In an unsurprising development, the company reportedly intends to appeal the decision.
