Coinbase Sports Contracts Michigan Halt Starts Oct. 10

• New sports event contracts stop for Michigan Coinbase customers at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Oct. 10, and open positions must be closed by then.
• Michigan, in return, stays its hand so long as Coinbase keeps to the terms and the 6th Circuit cases run.
• Whether Michigan gambling law reaches federally registered event contracts stays unresolved until the 6th Circuit or the Supreme Court rules.
• Kalshi, Robinhood and Coinbase have each now left Michigan’s sports contract market by court order or by agreement, the board said.

DETROIT – Coinbase sports contracts will end for Michigan customers at 12:00 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, Oct. 10, under a stipulation with the state, the Michigan Gaming Control Board announced Wednesday. After that hour Coinbase Financial Markets lists no new sports contracts for its Michigan accounts, and every open position in the state must be closed by then.

Open Positions Must Close By The Deadline

Any Michigan position still open at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Saturday gets closed by Coinbase, according to the board. The order reaches every designated contract market where Coinbase routes the trades, KalshiEX among them. The release does not say how Coinbase will close the positions or how they will be valued, and it carries no statement from Coinbase.

The State Stands Down While Coinbase Complies

Michigan’s side of the bargain is forbearance. Regulators stay their hand so long as Coinbase keeps to the terms and the parallel cases run at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the board said.

Executive Director Henry Williams attributed the exits to the legal risk operators face in Michigan. Attorney General Dana Nessel said, “Whether by agreement or court order, we intend to bring all sports betting into compliance with the law.” The two agencies said they will keep steering sports wagering to licensed operators, such as those among legal Michigan gambling sites.

Coinbase’s Preemption Appeal Stays On Hold

The core question, whether Michigan gambling law can reach contracts registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is left for the courts, the board said. Each side keeps its rights and defenses until the 6th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court decides it.

Coinbase’s December suit against Nessel and the board’s members rests on the Commodity Exchange Act, which it says displaces Michigan gambling law for sports event contracts. U.S. District Judge Shalina Kumar of the Eastern District of Michigan refused Coinbase a preliminary injunction Aug. 6. The appeal, No. 26-1693, sits on hold until the 6th Circuit decides the Kalshi, Polymarket and Robinhood cases, according to the board and court filings.

At stake is whether prediction markets follow the same state rules as legal online gambling operators. On Sept. 25, the 6th Circuit ruled in Kalshi’s Ohio and Tennessee appeals that both states’ gambling laws apply to its sports contracts.

Robinhood Got A Month; Coinbase’s Order Dates To Sept. 23

Robinhood Derivatives’ court-approved deal, announced Sept. 9, cut off new contracts that day and gave it until Oct. 9 to clear remaining positions. Kumar signed the Coinbase stipulation Sept. 23, 17 days before its single deadline, and the board announced it two weeks later, the court docket shows.

KalshiEX has been under an Ingham County Circuit Court injunction since Judge Rosemarie Aquilina signed it Sept. 1, with a $500,000-per-day fine for any breach, the attorney general’s office said. The board’s tally does not name Polymarket, whose appeal Coinbase’s case also awaits.