The Seminole Tribe of Florida has filed a lawsuit against DraftKings in Broward Circuit Court, alleging the operator’s DraftKings Sports & Casino application violates state law by offering online sports betting.
Since 2021, the Tribe has operated a monopoly on sports betting in Florida after signing a gaming compact with state lawmakers. Within the lawsuit, the Seminole Tribe requests that the court rule DraftKings’ sports betting activities are in violation of the agreement.
The lawsuit states: "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 Seminole Tribe also requested the court prohibit DraftKings from continuing operations in Florida, as well as award damages and fees – including the "restitution and disgorgement of all profits, revenues and other ill-gotten gains.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addressed the lawsuit on October 8, confirming the Tribe was “given the purview on sports betting.”
"I haven't read the thing. I just heard about it this morning, but I think our agreement clearly contemplated that they would have the ability to run this in Florida. The question is that if you have a certain regime on sports gaming, and then the prediction markets come in, does that fall under that or do they just get to do it?" DeSantis said.
"Ultimately, you are going to see federal decisions, probably at appeals and higher. Then I think you'll probably see Congress do some things with respect to how that's going."
The Seminole Tribe also accused DraftKings Co-Founder & CEO Jason Robins of violating the state’s anti-racketeering act, and believes there is little distinction between the operator’s services in Florida and markets where it has authorization to offer sports betting.
In response, a DraftKings spokesperson affirmed the stance that its prediction markets operate in accordance with state law.
“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,” the statement read.
“While the company has deep respect for Seminole Tribe’s sovereignty, we remain confident in our legal position.”
The lawsuit could represent the first legal action involving prediction markets in Florida and brings additional attention to DraftKings following allegations of the operator using AI to target losing bettors.
DraftKings formed a new collaboration with the DAV Transportation Network and presented a $50,000 donation to the organization as part of its Gameday activation on September 15
