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Bill Summary · HB 887

Overview

  • Bill: HB 887
  • Session: 136th General Assembly (Ohio)
  • Introduced: May 12, 2026
  • Sponsor: Representative Brennan
  • Cosponsors: Synenberg, McNally, White, E. (and Lauren McNally, Eric Synenberg, Sean Brennan, Erika White)

Purpose: Prohibit public officials and public employees from using prediction markets and related activities, with specified enforcement, penalties, and ethics-reporting requirements.

What the bill would do

  • Prohibit certain public officials and employees from participating in prediction markets, including maintaining accounts, buying/selling/trading event contracts, or facilitating others in those activities.
  • Create rules governing conflicts of interest and financial relationships with prediction market operators.
  • Expand or codify ethics oversight and enforcement mechanisms related to prediction-market activities.

Key provisions and changes

  • Definitions (102.01, as amended):

    • Clarifies terms such as compensation, public official or employee, public agency, income, honorarium, employer, event contract, and prediction market.
    • Special definitions for “prediction market” (system allowing acquisition, sale, or trade of event contracts) and exceptions (sports gaming licensed under Chapter 3775).
    • Sets broader definitions for “anything of value,” “immediate family,” and related ethics concepts to cover prediction-market contexts.
    • Establishes that certain entities are excluded from “public agency” coverage (e.g., cultural/educational/humanitarian or certain nonprofit roles with specific monetary and activity limits).

  • Prediction-market prohibition (102.032):

    • No public official or employee may knowingly:
    • Maintain a prediction-market account.
    • Participate in acquisition, sale, or trading of event contracts.
    • Facilitate or assist others in such activities.
    • Disclose confidential information to influence decision-making about prediction-market activities.
    • Prohibition also extends to certain recipients of compensation or direct/indirect financial interests in entities operating prediction markets.
    • Exceptions:
    • Investment through mutual funds, blind trusts, or similar arrangements where the official has no control.
    • Educational or research activities that do not involve potential personal financial gain.
    • Scope of who is covered (103.032(B)):
    • Targets high-level officials and certain state, judicial, and agency positions (e.g., governor, attorney general, legislative members and staff, supreme court justices, certain department heads and commissions, ethics commission members).

  • Ethics enforcement and proceedings (102.06):

    • Establishes how the appropriate ethics commission would handle complaints related to this chapter.
    • Procedures for affidavits, investigations, information sharing with other authorities, hearings, confidentiality, and public reporting.
    • Hearing rights and record-keeping provisions for accused individuals.
    • Provisions for fines, prosecution referrals, and timelines (including 90-day and six-month benchmarks for certain actions).

  • Penalties and costs (102.99):

    • Specifies misdemeanor penalties for violations of various provisions.
    • Additional penalties for violations specifically tied to prediction-market restrictions (up to a $10,000 fine per violation).
    • Possible removal from office or employment for certain violations.
    • Court-ordered costs related to investigation and prosecution, tied to the value of improper gains or benefits.

  • Reporting and financial disclosures (102.06, 102.99):

    • Annual ethics reporting to legislative leaders, including complaint statistics and nature of alleged conduct.
    • Section 102.99 includes provisions for cost recovery and potential recovery of ill-gotten gains.

  • Effective-disclosure note (Section 3):

    • Requires financial disclosure filers to identify any prediction markets where they had an account during the prior 12 months, in the year following the bill’s effective date.

  • Repeal and consolidation:

    • Repeals current sections 102.01, 102.06, and 102.99 and replaces them with the same-named sections reflecting the updated framework and new 102.032 restrictions.

Who would be affected

  • Public officials and public employees in Ohio who are covered by the ethics framework (e.g., governors, attorneys general, legislators and staff, supreme court personnel, certain department and agency members, casino lottery, and ethics commissions).
  • Officials and employees of public agencies who fall under the broader state or local government ethics regime.
  • Entities operating prediction markets and those who would otherwise engage in activities related to event contracts, due to potential financial interactions or conflicts of interest.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Complaint intake and investigation process are outlined, including affidavits, confidential handling, hearings, and potential public reporting upon request.
  • Hearing procedures, confidentiality, and ability to subpoena witnesses are defined.
  • Provisions for settlements and mediation are included, with requirements for written agreements and potential breach consequences.
  • If a prosecuting authority does not initiate action within 90 days after the ethics commission report, the ethics commission may publicly comment that no action has been taken.
  • If a hearing or investigation is not completed within specified windows (90 days for a hearing, 6 months for disposition), complaints may be dismissed.
  • Annual reporting by the Ohio ethics commission to legislative leaders is mandated.

Bottom line

HB 887 seeks to shield Ohio's public officials and employees from potential conflicts of interest related to prediction markets by prohibiting participation, requiring disclosure, and strengthening ethics oversight and penalties. It also clarifies definitions, updates enforcement procedures, and adds a specific prohibition on maintaining accounts or dealing with event contracts in prediction markets, with limited carve-outs for certain investments and non-financial educational/research activities.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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