Seminole Tribe Sues DraftKings Over Florida Prediction Markets
The Seminole Tribe of Florida has sued DraftKings, CEO Jason Robins, and GUS III LLC — the entity behind "DraftKings Predictions" — in Broward County Circuit Court, arguing the company's sports event contracts are sports betting dressed up as commodities trading, in violation of the Tribe's exclusive gaming compact.
What the Tribe's compact covers
Florida's 2021 gaming compact gives the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to operate sports betting in the state through Hard Rock Bet, in exchange for the Tribe paying the state at least $2.5 billion over five years. The 72-page complaint argues DraftKings' prediction-market product lets Floridians wager on moneylines, spreads, totals, player props, and parlays through an interface the Tribe describes as "nearly identical" to DraftKings' licensed sportsbooks operating in other states.
A pricing switch under regulatory pressure
A key piece of the complaint centers on August 28, when DraftKings began displaying Florida prices as cent-denominated contract prices instead of traditional American odds — a change the Tribe says followed CFTC guidance issued August 7 warning that sportsbook-style odds displays could mislead consumers about the true nature of prediction-market contracts. The complaint's framing is blunt: "DraftKings changed the label on the price. It did not change the price, the product, or the transaction."
The suit also alleges the product is available to users as young as 18, below Florida's sports-betting age minimum of 21, and that it offers college player props the Tribe says are barred under the compact. A separate civil racketeering claim targets Robins individually, citing his roughly 89% control of DraftKings' voting shares.
Part of a bigger pattern in Florida and beyond
The complaint also alleges DraftKings quietly financed earlier legal challenges to the Seminole compact — including a 2025 suit via an entity called Protect the Constitution LLC, which DraftKings joined as the sole named member in an amended filing on September 17. DraftKings entered prediction markets nationally in December 2025 and has said it plans to invest $200 million to $300 million in the business this year, partly because sports contracts avoid the state sportsbook taxes — as high as 51% in New York — that apply to traditional betting revenue.
The case lands alongside a wider, unresolved legal fight over whether federally regulated prediction markets can offer sports-outcome contracts in states where traditional sports betting is otherwise tightly licensed. Federal appeals courts have split on similar questions involving Kalshi and other platforms, and New Jersey is separately seeking Supreme Court review of the broader issue. For now, the relief the Tribe is seeking is straightforward: an injunction blocking DraftKings' prediction-market and related fantasy offerings in Florida, plus recovery of the revenue DraftKings has earned there.
For bettors, it's another sign that the legal ground under prediction-market sports contracts remains unsettled state by state — worth watching if you use these products anywhere the legality of sports event contracts is still being litigated.