Robinhood halts Michigan sports event contracts under state gaming board deal
Robinhood has agreed to immediately halt sports event contracts in Michigan under a deal with the Michigan Gaming Control Board, announced September 9. The brokerage will close open positions within 30 days. The state agreed not to pursue further action against the company. The move comes as Robinhood faces parallel orders in Connecticut and Missouri, where regulators this week demanded nine platforms and then Robinhood specifically stop offering sports event contracts without state wagering licenses. Court cases over the legality of sports-linked event contracts continue in Michigan pending a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruling.
Robinhood's Michigan retreat forces it onto the same state-by-state battlefield Kalshi and Polymarket already occupy, with each new state order becoming precedent the next copies. Connecticut and Missouri added fronts this month, compounding legal spend across parallel cases faster than any single resolution. The brokerage now holds positions whose legality shifts with state borders rather than federal rules.
Robinhood joined New Jersey and Crypto.com in petitioning the Supreme Court for preemption clarity, but months of delay risk more bans before any federal answer. Traders face fragmented markets and uncertain contract validity. Geofencing or cert is the choice every operator must make, and each retreat narrows the path back.