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Ohio regulators have added fresh ammunition to their legal fight with Kalshi, pointing a federal judge to a new Massachusetts ruling that ordered the prediction market to stop offering sports-related contracts in that state. With this, Ohio joins the growing list of states hoping to use Massachusetts ruling to stamp state ordinances on prediction markets. New Jersey joined the last just recently last week.
Gaming attorney Daniel Wallach said the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) filed the Massachusetts decision as “supplemental authority” in its response opposing Kalshi’s push for a preliminary injunction in Ohio.
Massachusetts order matters to Ohio
On Jan. 20, Suffolk County Superior Christopher Barry-Smith granted Massachusetts a preliminary injunction that bars Kalshi from offering sports-related event contracts unless it has the state sports wagering license Massachusetts says is required. The judge also rejected Kalshi’s argument that federal commodities law wipes out state gambling authority in this lane.
With Massachusetts testing the same claim Kalshi has been using around the country, “CFTC-regulated exchange equals nationwide permission slip”, and not buying it, Ohio wants to pitch the same.
Ohio vs. Kalshi didn’t start this month
Ohio’s clash with prediction markets goes back to the spring. In late March/early April 2025, the OCCC sent cease-and-desist notices to Kalshi and other platforms over sports-related event contracts, arguing the products amount to unlicensed sports wagering under Ohio law.
Kalshi later sued, insisting its contracts are regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act through the CFTC, and that state gambling regulators shouldn’t get to block them. That’s the dispute now playing out in court, with the Massachusetts decision now on the record as Ohio tries to keep its enforcement tools intact.
The “Massachusetts citation” is turning into a trend
Ohio isn’t alone in treating Barry-Smith’s order like a roadmap. Regulators in multiple states have been watching the same question: when event contracts track sports outcomes, do they stay in federal commodities territory, or do they cross into state-regulated sports betting?
Massachusetts was the first state to land a court order that forces Kalshi to pause sports-related contracts while the case continues, and the ruling is already being referenced across other active fights.
Further steps for Kalshi and Ohio
For Kalshi, the near-term goal in Ohio is straightforward: keep operating while the lawsuit runs. For Ohio, the goal is the opposite, dissolve any protection that would stop the commission from treating sports contracts as illegal wagering unless the company goes through state licensing.
The hidden picture is that these cases are starting to stack up, and judges are being asked the same question in different circuits.
Ohio adding the Massachusetts order doesn’t end the argument, but it does signal that states think the momentum is shifting their way.
Source: Gambling Insider
