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Seminoles sue DraftKings, claim company runs illegal sports betting business in Florida. Posted on: October 8, 2026, 02:29h. Last updated on: October 8, 2026, 02:31h. Key points. * The Seminole Tribe of Florida has sued DraftKings and CEO Jason Robins, alleging the company is operating an illegal sportsbook * The Tribe says DraftKings' prediction market offerings violate Florida law and its 2021 compact * The tribe wants the court to shut down DraftKings' Florida operations and order restitution and disgorgement The Seminole Tribe of Florida has filed a complaint against DraftKings and its founder and CEO, Jason Robins, on allegations that the interactive gaming company is operating an illegal sports betting business. Filed in Florida's 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Fort Lauderdale, attorneys representing the Seminole Tribe contend that DraftKings is running an illegal, unlicensed sports gambling platform under the guise of a federally regulated prediction market. "Every wager that Defendants 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 complaint continues. Seminole compact. In 2021, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the Seminoles amended the tribe's Class III gaming compact, pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), to include new house-banked games and the exclusive rights to operate online sports betting. The state and tribe prevailed in their defense that the hub-and-spoke model, where online sportsbook computer servers remain on sovereign Seminole land, constituted tribal gaming under IGRA. The Seminoles, in exchange for a minimum payment of $2.5 billion to the state over the compact's first five years, were granted the exclusive rights to online sports betting. The tribe, however, alleges that its Hard Rock Bet mobile sportsbook isn't free of competition because DraftKings Predictions is functioning as an illegal online sportsbook. The tribe's complaint says Robins has readily acknowledged that DraftKings Predictions is nearly identical to DraftKings Sportsbook. The Seminoles argue that after DraftKings spent many millions unsuccessfully funding campaigns to legalize commercial sports betting in Florida, the company decided to bet on an illegal sportsbook masquerading as a financial prediction market. The Seminoles are asking the court for a declaratory judgment finding that DraftKings Predictions is an illegal sportsbook under Florida law and an injunction barring the platform from operating in the state. The tribe additionally seeks restitution and disgorgement, plus nominal damages, attorneys' and court costs, and any other relief the court deems appropriate. DraftKings response. DraftKings quickly responded to the Seminole lawsuit. The company defended its business in Florida, citing its prediction market license from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). DeSantis weighed in on Thursday (Oct. 8), saying federal courts and lawmakers need to quickly resolve the dispute about whether prediction markets can offer trading on sports events. Devin O'Connor is a senior reporter for Casino.org, covering politics, casino business, and gaming news. Devin came on board with Casino.org in 2014. He lives in Arlington, Va.

BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel tie for Most Trusted Online Casino Brand. Online Casinos Awards & Recognition Updated by Joss Wood Commercial Editor Last Updated 8th Oct 2026, 02:05 PM BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel were named co-winners of Most Trusted Online Casino Brand in the 2026 BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards, tied together atop the category rather than any one operator taking the title outright. The ranking comes from the BrandSpark American Trust Study, conducted with Newsweek, which surveyed 35,215 American consumers and produced roughly 182,000 brand evaluations across 359 categories based on unaided top-of-mind responses. A tie is built into the methodology. BrandSpark declares a tie whenever competing brands land within a 3% trust-share margin of each other, and sets a 10% minimum trust share for any brand to rank in a category at all. Neither BrandSpark nor Newsweek published the individual trust-share figures behind the Online Casino result, so it isn't clear how close BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel actually finished, only that all three cleared the bar and fell within that margin of one another. That same study produced a solo winner elsewhere in the gambling space: Newsweek's release says FanDuel took Sports Betting Provider outright this year, breaking a tie it had shared with DraftKings in the 2025 edition. BetMGM's pitch: trust tied to payouts and reliability. In its release, BrandSpark's analysis linked BetMGM's trust rating to consumer perceptions of quality, reliability, dependable payouts and overall platform credibility, with the brand performing particularly well among higher-income and older demographics. "In an industry where fairness and security are top of mind for our players, trust is the foundation of everything we do," - Adam Greenblatt, Chief Executive Officer, BetMGM BetMGM's online casino carries more than 7,000 titles across its North American markets and runs one of the industry's largest state-by-state exclusive progressive jackpot networks, with more than 25 games including MGM Grand Millions, Bison Fury and 15 Lanterns. The operator has also been named the American Gambling Awards' Online Casino of the Year three years running, in 2023, 2024 and 2025, along with other Casino Operator of the Year honors from SBC and EGR. Three companies, three different paths to the US market. BetMGM is a joint venture of MGM Resorts International and Entain Plc, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, operating on Entain's US-licensed technology alongside the Borgata Casino, Party Casino and Party Poker brands. DraftKings and FanDuel, by contrast, built their US footprints from daily fantasy sports before expanding into online casino and sports betting as states legalized both; both now rank among BetMGM's largest competitors in the states where all three operate online casino products. Sponsored · Casinos.com Which Online Casino is really right for you? 21+ | Gamble responsibly | Call 1-800-GAMBLER Meet the author. 20 Years Experience Commercial Editor Joss Wood has over a decade of experience reviewing and comparing the top online casinos in the world to ensure players find their favorite place to play. Joss is also a specialist when it comes to breaking down what casino bonuses add value and where to find the promotions you don't want to miss.

Seminole Tribe sues DraftKings, says group is running illegal Florida sports betting. By Romy Ellenbogen Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau Updated October 8, 2026 1:44 PM Gift Article TALLAHASSEE The Seminole Tribe of Florida on Thursday filed a lawsuit against gambling company DraftKings and its CEO, accusing the group of running an illegal sports betting operation in Florida. Under a 2021 gaming compact signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Seminole Tribe has the exclusive right to run sports betting in Florida for the next nearly 25 years. In exchange for the monopoly, the tribe has to give billions of dollars back to Florida. But in a Thursday lawsuit filed in Broward County, the tribe said DraftKings is flouting the law. The 72-page legal complaint includes screenshots and photos of online advertisements and billboards telling people that DraftKings is "now in Florida." DraftKings is a digital company that operates across all 50 states but is headquartered in Massachusetts. It offers sports betting in 27 states, according to its website. Other states, including Florida, are covered by prediction markets. "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 lawsuit said. The Seminole Tribe is asking the Broward County court to shut down DraftKings' Florida operation, including two specific programs the tribe takes issue with: Pick6 and the Super App sportsbook. It is also asking the court to hand over the money DraftKings made in Florida, which the Tribe will use for "consumer protection initiatives and problem-gambling recovery programs," according to the lawsuit. A spokesperson for DraftKings said in a statement that their prediction markets operate in accordance with applicable 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 DraftKings spokesperson said in a statement. "While the company has deep respect for Seminole Tribe's sovereignty, we remain confident in our legal position," DraftKings said. At a Thursday news conference, DeSantis said he hadn't seen the lawsuit but said the gaming compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe has worked well to help Florida recover money it wasn't getting before. "I think our agreement clearly contemplated that they would have the ability to run this in Florida," he said. The Seminole Tribe is also accusing DraftKings CEO Jason Robins of violating Florida's anti-racketeering act. Unlike the Seminole Tribe, the lawsuit argues, Robins and DraftKings do not have to pay "even a penny" in taxes to Florida, which they argue wrongfully takes money away from Florida's environmental and educational programs. The lawsuit argues that DraftKings' Super App and Pick6 products operate as sports betting, not prediction markets. The Tribe said there is no distinction between what a DraftKings page looks like in Florida, where the company describes its products as prediction betting, and in a state where they have a license to operate sports betting. DraftKings also separates its sports page from other predictions, according to the lawsuit. And the lawsuit points to the "1-800-GAMBLER" disclosure on DraftKings' advertisements as evidence that they are offering gambling, not prediction trading. "The warning is DraftKings' own admission, printed on its own advertisements, that the Super App sportsbook is a gambling product and not a financial market," the lawsuit said. DraftKings has tried to open up Florida's betting market before to no avail. In 2021, it, along with the gaming company FanDuel, tried to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That initiative failed. In its lawsuit, the Seminole Tribe said that DraftKings also "secretly funded" a series of lawsuits attacking the gaming compact, including a 2021 lawsuit from two pari-mutuel facilities, a 2024 lawsuit from the same group and a 2025 lawsuit from an LLC called "Protect the Constitution." "Having failed to change Florida law through the ballot box and the courts, DraftKings... has now pivoted to proceeding as though the law, the Compact, and the Tribe's exclusive rights simply do not exist," the lawsuit said. DraftKings also often makes political donations. That includes giving half a million dollars this election cycle to the Republican nominee for governor, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has given Donalds $5.5 million.