The Seminole Tribe of Florida is suing DraftKings, alleging the company’s prediction markets and fantasy sports offerings violate the Tribe’s exclusive rights to operate sports betting in the state.
The 72-page complaint, filed Thursday in Broward County Circuit Court, also names DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and GUS III LLC, which operates as DraftKings Predictions. It includes a civil racketeering claim against Robins and seeks an injunction blocking the offerings, along with the recovery of all revenue and profits earned in Florida.
The dispute pits DraftKings’ nationwide expansion and push for lower-cost, higher-margin growth through prediction markets against Florida’s 2021 gaming compact, which grants the Seminoles exclusive sports betting rights through Hard Rock Bet in exchange for at least $2.5 billion in payments to the state over five years.
Tribe alleges ‘illegal’ sports betting
The Tribe alleges Floridians can wager on moneylines, point spreads, totals, player props and parlays through the DraftKings Sports & Casino app, using an interface nearly identical to the company’s licensed sportsbooks in other states.
“That DraftKings Predictions may run in the background does not transform sports wagers into ‘commodities trading,’” the complaint states.
The filing also alleges DraftKings changed how prices appeared to Florida customers on Aug. 28, replacing traditional American betting odds with contract prices expressed in cents while leaving the underlying offerings unchanged. The change followed guidance issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Aug. 7 warning prediction market operators that display prices in sportsbook-style odds could mislead consumers about the nature of the contracts.
“DraftKings changed the label on the price. It did not change the price, the product, or the transaction,” the Tribe argues in its complaint.
DraftKings offers sports contracts to customers as young as 18, below Florida’s minimum sports betting age of 21, and offers college player props that are prohibited under the state’s gaming compact. The complaint cites DraftKings’ terms of use, which disclaim any guarantee that its products are lawful in a particular jurisdiction while requiring customers to confirm their activities comply with applicable laws.
The Tribe alleges Robins personally directed the Florida expansion, citing his control of approximately 89% of DraftKings’ voting power.
DraftKings expands to Florida
DraftKings entered prediction markets in December 2025, offering sports event contracts in Florida and other states like California and Texas, where online sports betting is illegal.
The move followed the rapid expansion of Kalshi and Polymarket, whose sports contracts have sparked a nationwide legal fight over whether federal commodities law overrides states’ authority to regulate sports betting, freed from federal restrictions when the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in 2018. With federal appeals courts now divided and New Jersey seeking review, the dispute could return to the justices.
DraftKings launched Pick6 in Florida in January and rolled out its unified Sports & Casino app nationwide in June. The app offers a one-stop-shop sportsbook-style experience across jurisdictions, directing customers to traditional sports betting or prediction markets depending on their location. Its conventional sportsbook and online casino remain unavailable in Florida.
The company has touted prediction markets to investors as a major growth opportunity, allowing it to reach millions of potential customers without the constraints of state sports betting laws. DraftKings said integrating Predictions into its flagship app cut customer acquisition costs by more than 80% in April. It plans to invest $200 million to $300 million in the business this year.
DraftKings also expects higher margins from prediction markets, which avoid state sportsbook taxes as high as 51% in New York. The company began reporting Sportsbook and Predictions revenue together under a single Sports category in the second quarter.
Roadblocks to Florida sports betting
DraftKings and FanDuel previously backed an unsuccessful ballot initiative to open Florida’s sports betting market to commercial operators. DraftKings contributed $22.7 million to the campaign, which failed to qualify for the November 2022 ballot.
The complaint alleges DraftKings also secretly financed lawsuits challenging the compact, including one brought by Florida pari-mutuel operator West Flagler Associates.
That challenge initially succeeded in 2021, when a federal judge overturned the compact’s approval for treating mobile bets placed outside tribal lands as occurring on tribal property because the servers processing them were located there. A federal appeals court reversed the ruling in June 2023, allowing Hard Rock Bet to resume operations that November. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2024.
West Flagler later settled with the Tribe and agreed to offer jai alai wagering through Hard Rock Bet.
DraftKings joins another Florida lawsuit
The Seminoles also allege DraftKings formed and funded Protect the Constitution LLC, which filed another lawsuit challenging Florida’s implementation of the compact in 2025.
After that case was initially dismissed for lack of standing, DraftKings formally joined an amended complaint filed Sept. 17, identifying itself as the LLC’s sole member. The challenge remains unresolved.
The Tribe’s complaint also cites DraftKings’ admission in the separate litigation that its Florida daily fantasy sports revenue declined after Hard Rock Bet introduced statewide mobile betting, as customers shifted some spending to the Tribe’s sportsbook.
