Seminole Tribe Sues DraftKings as 145 Tribal Governments Urge SCOTUS to Act — But Tribes Are Split
The Seminole Tribe of Florida sued DraftKings on October 8 in Broward County court, alleging that DraftKings' Pick6 and sports event contracts operate as unlicensed sportsbooks that violate the Tribe's exclusive sports betting rights under its 2021 Florida gaming compact. The same week, a coalition of roughly 130 federally recognized tribes and 15 tribal organizations filed a Supreme Court amicus brief urging the Court to hear the Kalshi case, arguing the contracts are sports bets and that platforms have operated on Indian lands without tribal authorization under IGRA. But the tribal community is split: several California tribes and an Oklahoma tribe have instead partnered with Kalshi to build apps and online casinos on its platform.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida filed a 72-page lawsuit against DraftKings on October 8, 2026 in Broward County Circuit Court, naming DraftKings, its CEO Jason Robins, and GUS III LLC, which operates as DraftKings Predictions. The Tribe alleges that DraftKings' Pick6 product and its sports event contracts function as unlicensed sportsbooks that replicate traditional sports wagering while circumventing the Tribe's 2021 Florida gaming compact, which grants the Seminoles exclusive rights to offer regulated sports betting in the state. The Tribe is seeking an injunction, disgorgement of profits, and legal costs. DraftKings responded that it respects the Seminole Tribe's sovereignty but remains confident in its legal position, arguing that its products comply with federal commodity and fantasy sports rules and that it is regulated solely at the federal level by the CFTC. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who negotiated the 2021 compact, signaled support for the Tribe's action.
The choice of defendant is itself notable. The Seminole Tribe sued DraftKings but not Kalshi, Polymarket, Underdog, PrizePicks, or Crypto.com, all of which offer comparable sports event contracts. Gaming attorney Daniel Wallach suggested the Tribe may have avoided suing the platform with the strongest White House backing — a reference to the political connections between Kalshi, Polymarket, and the current administration documented in recent reporting. Targeting DraftKings, a publicly traded sports betting company whose prediction market product is a newer and smaller line, is a lower-risk way for the Tribe to test the legal theory than directly confronting the market leaders and their political support. Wallach expected DraftKings to attempt to remove the case to federal court, the same tactic Kalshi has used when sued in state court, though the Tribe's request for injunctive relief under the state compact may be structured to resist removal.
The Seminole suit coincided with a major tribal filing at the Supreme Court. A coalition of roughly 130 federally recognized tribes and 15 tribal organizations filed an amicus brief on October 8 supporting New Jersey's petition in Flaherty v. KalshiEX, urging the Court to take the case. The coalition's argument has two parts. First, that Kalshi's sports event contracts are sports bets regardless of the label, and that Congress did not, by adding the single word 'swaps' to the Commodity Exchange Act, intend to displace the entire existing framework of gaming law. Second, that Kalshi has offered sports event contracts on Indian lands without tribal authorization, raising distinct questions under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act — the federal statute, rooted in the Supreme Court's 1987 Cabazon decision, that governs gaming on tribal lands. The tribal nations frame the prediction market platforms as an existential threat to the exclusive gaming rights that fund tribal governments and that were guaranteed through decades of litigation and federal law.
The tribal community is not unified, however. While the large coalition opposes the platforms at the Supreme Court, several tribes have moved in the opposite direction commercially. Three California tribes announced they are partnering with Kalshi to build their own apps and online casinos on the platform, and a small Oklahoma tribe has struck a deal with Kalshi as well — drawing criticism from the more than 140 tribes in the opposing coalition. The split mirrors the divide among sports leagues, where the NFL opposes the platforms in court while MLB, the NHL, and MLS have signed commercial partnerships. In both cases, the division reflects a strategic choice: fight the platforms to defend an existing exclusive franchise, or partner with them to capture a share of a growing market that may be impossible to stop. For tribes, the stakes are especially high because tribal gaming exclusivity is not merely a commercial arrangement but a legal framework tied to sovereignty and to the funding of tribal government services. The tribes partnering with Kalshi are betting that participation is better than resistance; the 145 opposing tribes are betting that the exclusivity they fought for is worth defending at the Supreme Court. The outcome of Flaherty v. KalshiEX will determine which bet pays off.
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Recent updates
Google Adds Prediction Market Ad Policy — CFTC License Required, Ads Blocked in Five States
Google published a dedicated prediction markets section in its advertising policy on October 15, requiring domestic prediction market operators to hold a CFTC Designated Contract Market license to run ads — a requirement that favors Kalshi and Polymarket US over unlicensed rivals. Google also bars prediction market ads targeting five states where enforcement is most active: Connecticut (added recently), Michigan and New York (July), Ohio (June), and Nevada (earlier in the year). The policy makes Google's advertising platform mirror the state-by-state enforcement map, using commercial access as a de facto regulatory layer.
Kalshi Partners With Signify to Police Athlete Harassment, Codifies Anti-Abuse Rule
Kalshi announced a partnership with Signify Group on October 15 to monitor social media for abuse and threats directed at athletes, coaches, and sports personnel across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and ATP Tour. Kalshi notified the CFTC of a new rule, dated October 13, that codifies athlete harassment as an 'impermissible activity' on its platform, with sanctions up to financial penalties and permanent account closure. The move follows a September appeal by five major leagues and their players' unions for lifetime bans on abusive bettors, and positions Kalshi ahead of the integrity concerns that sports leagues and regulators have raised about prediction market sports contracts.
CFTC Moves to Classify Event Contracts as Swaps — Attempting to Settle the Core SCOTUS Question by Rule
The CFTC, led by Chairman Michael Selig, moved on October 9 to explicitly classify event contracts as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, which would place prediction market contracts squarely under federal swap regulation. The scope covers sports, political, cultural, and weather contracts, while a separate provision excludes casino-style gambling and sportsbook wagers. Selig said the aim is to remove 'any ambiguity' about these contracts. The action targets the exact question dividing the federal circuits and now before the Supreme Court — whether event contracts are 'swaps' — and represents an attempt by the federal regulator to settle that question by rule while the courts remain split.