The Seminole Tribe of Florida has filed a lawsuit against DraftKings, alleging its prediction market product violates state law and the 2021 Gaming Compact signed between Florida and the tribe.
- The 2021 Gaming Compact grants the Seminole Tribe of Florida exclusive rights to operate sports betting in the state.
- In September, DraftKings launched its sporting event prediction market contracts through its “Super App” in Florida.
- The Seminole Tribe of Florida claims that DraftKings is offering sports betting illegally in the state and further attests that DraftKings has funded campaigns in an attempt to overturn its Compact.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida filed a 72-page lawsuit claiming that DraftKings and its CEO Jason Robins are violating state law and the terms of the 2021 Gaming Compact (the Compact) between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe. The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida claims that DraftKings' prediction market offering violates state law and the Compact by offering sports betting through its sporting event contracts. DraftKings is not licensed by the state nor does it pay taxes to the state.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, also claims that DraftKings has been marketing and describing its prediction market product as a sports betting equivalent. According to one lawsuit citation, DraftKings’ CEO Jason Robins stated “most customers do not really even understand the difference. In essence, it is the same general message to the customer.”
The lawsuit argues that “Florida has decided that legal sports betting should be conducted through a single, accountable, trustworthy, and heavily regulated operator, and it selected the Tribe, not DraftKings, as the steward of its policy.”
The Seminole Tribe is asking the court for an injunction to prevent DraftKings from operating in the state, declarations of DraftKings I, and disgorgement of DraftKings profits in Florida. The Seminole Tribe intends to use any funds recovered from the lawsuit for consumer protection initiatives and responsible gambling recovery programs.
“Every wager that (DraftKings) now accept through their illegal sportsbook siphons away revenue that funds both the Tribe’s and Florida’s public programs and government services; diverts betting from Florida’s regulated system into an underground, unregulated, and outlawed book; and deprives the Floridian who places such a bet of the consumer protections guaranteed by Florida law,” the lawsuit states.
Florida’s unique sports betting arrangement
Sports betting in Florida is offered exclusively through Hard Rock Bet, which offers online and in-person betting at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Florida legalized sports betting in 2021 via a Class III gaming compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe. The Compact, which granted the tribe exclusive rights to provide sports betting in the state, was submitted and approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior in August 2021. The Compact was legally challenged in 2022 but was subsequently upheld by the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2023.
The lawsuit also claims that DraftKings has been secretly funding legislative initiatives to try to overturn the Compact.
“DraftKings first tried to buy itself legal access to the Florida market, spending more than $20 million on a ballot initiative to undermine the Tribe’s exclusive rights,” reads the lawsuit. “But that ballot initiative failed, as did a series of lawsuits that DraftKings secretly funded for years – one that ended in a denial of review by the U.S. Supreme Court, a second that ended in a denial of review by the Florida Supreme Court, and a third that DraftKings filed in Florida state court in September 2026. Despite Defendants’ efforts, Florida’s gambling laws, and the Compact that gives the Tribe exclusive rights, remain in full force and effect.”
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DraftKings responds
DraftKings offered a statement in response to the lawsuit.
“DraftKings’ prediction markets offering operates in accordance with applicable law and the federal regulatory framework established under the Commodity Exchange Act,” a DraftKings spokesperson said.
“Furthermore, DraftKings Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy sports variant centered on a simple ‘more or less’ mechanic tied to individual athlete performance metrics and is not sports betting. While the company has deep respect for Seminole Tribe’s sovereignty, we remain confident in our legal position.”
