The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) announced that Coinbase Financial Markets must stop offering new sports-related contracts and close all open customer positions by 12:00 a.m. ET on the set date, with the deal also covering sports contracts traded on KalshiEX and other designated contract markets. In return, the state won’t take enforcement action while Coinbase follows the agreement and while related appeals continue at the Sixth Circuit.
Michigan has now secured agreements or court orders against Kalshi, Robinhood, and Coinbase, as Robinhood signed a similar deal in September 2026, and Kalshi stopped offering sports contracts after a state court order. At the same time, a court had denied Coinbase’s request for a preliminary injunction in August, with its appeal pending at the Sixth Circuit, on hold until related appeals involving Robinhood, Polymarket, and Kalshi are settled.
MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams commented:
“Coinbase joining Robinhood and Kalshi in stepping back from these unlicensed sports contracts underscores Michigan’s commitment to enforcing its gaming laws. Operators are halting these activities because they face significant legal consequences for continuing to offer them in our state.”
However, the agreement doesn’t settle the main question of whether Michigan can treat CFTC-registered event contracts as gambling. All sides keep their rights and defenses until the Sixth Circuit or the US Supreme Court rules, but Michigan’s position got a boost on September 25, when the Sixth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in cases involving Ohio and Tennessee.
