CFTC-regulated prediction market platform Kalshi filed a suit against the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) and Ohio Attorney General on Tuesday. Ohio has become the fifth state that Kalshi is in litigation with, joining Nevada, New Jersey, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
Kalshi’s legal team made the usual federal preemption arguments for a preliminary injunction then added a new one.
Kalshi cited an Aug. 25, 2025 letter the OCCC sent to sportsbook licensees that warned that “any business relationship between an Ohio sports gaming licensee . . . with any entit(ies) offering or facilitating the offering of unlicensed sports gaming in Ohio calls into question the reputation of the licensee and the integrity of sports gaming in Ohio.”
Kalshi went on to argue that because sportsbooks risked their licenses by partnering with Kalshi, the OCCC would “compound the extraordinary harm Kalshi would suffer as a result of the Casino Commission’s unlawful attempts at regulation.” Proving “irreparable harm” is one of the conditions for being granted a preliminary injunction.
Monitoring conduct of sportsbook licensees
State gaming regulators consider an applicant’s compliance in other jurisdictions when deciding whether to grant a gaming license. This goes back to 2018 when states could first choose whether to legalize sports betting.
The brief also revealed that “some prospective business partners have executed term sheets with Kalshi,” suggesting that members of the sports betting industry could become brokers for Kalshi’s contracts.
“Though some prospective business partners have executed term sheets with Kalshi, the term sheets permit the prospective partners to withdraw from the agreements where regulatory changes make the terms of the agreement infeasible.” pic.twitter.com/VHJLCLcraH
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) October 7, 2025
Kalshi’s 50-state access and a way to bypass license fees and tax rates that vary by state make prediction markets an attractive option. However, sportsbooks could be risking their regulated sports betting licenses to be able to offer products that could still be outlawed in a future appellate or Supreme Court ruling.
Meanwhile, crypto competitor Polymarket is set to launch sports contracts in the U.S. any day and will do so on the back of a $2 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE), NYSE’s parent company.
Polymarket fundraising and sports plans
On Tuesday, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan didn’t only announce his $2 billion raise. He also announced two previous rounds of raises. The first was in 2024 before the election, a $55 million raise in which Polymarket was valued at $350 million. The next was earlier in 2025 when Polymarket raised $150 million and was valued at $1.2 billion.
Also, I’d like to share the prior two rounds which were never announced.
Earlier this year, Founders Fund led a $150m round into Polymarket, valuing us at $1.2b. Also in this round was Ribbit, Valor, Point72 Ventures, SV Angel, 1789, 1confirmation, Blockchain Capital, Coinbase,…
— Shayne Coplan 🦅 (@shayne_coplan) October 7, 2025
Polymarket’s latest $2 billion raise pushes its valuation to $9 billion, driven in part by developments this year like a DOJ probe into Polymarket being dropped and its announced U.S. launch.
As Kalshi’s largest competitor prepares to enter the American prediction market industry, the ongoing partnership war will become increasingly important as these two giants differentiate themselves and compete for business.
