Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Questions Kalshi’s Position in Florida

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has raised concerns about whether prediction market platform Kalshi could be infringing on the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s exclusive sports betting rights.

Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Governor DeSantis said the rapid growth of prediction markets over the past year has led state officials to examine whether such platforms clash with Florida sports betting law.

“In Florida, we kind of have a unique relationship with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. They also have the exclusive rights over sports betting. And so the question is: is something like Kalshi clashing with the laws of the state of Florida? Or is it separate? It’s more of a prediction market,” he said. 

At the moment, the Seminole Tribe holds exclusive rights to sports betting in the Sunshine State, under the terms of a compact that was signed before Governor DeSantis took office. 

Kalshi has previously rejected similar claims in other states, saying it operates as a federally regulated financial exchange rather than a sportsbook. The company’s event contracts are overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Kalshi founder Tarek Mansour has said in previous comments that if Kalshi’s offerings are deemed gambling, then so is the entire financial market.

The debate reflects a broader national dispute over whether sports event contracts constitute state-regulated sports betting or fall under federal commodities law. Several states have examined the issue, with mixed legal outcomes, as prediction market apps continue to expand. 

Recently, the CFTC chairman, Michael Selig, even announced his view in an article in the Washington Post that only the CFTC could determine which contracts facilitated gambling. This didn’t go over so well with some states, with Utah's governor defending the state’s right to govern sports betting. 

Crypto.com sued in Florida

In a related development, cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com is facing a proposed federal class action lawsuit in Miami, accusing the company of operating an illegal sports betting scheme with its ‘Sports Event Trading’ feature.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, was brought by California residents Kamana Keohohou and Nicholas Evans. The plaintiffs allege the platform’s event-based trading feature amounts to unlawful sports betting in more than two dozen states, including California and Florida. 

The lawsuit names Crypto.com and its subsidiary Foris DAX as defendants, and it claims that users have lost hundreds of millions of dollars through the product.

Crypto.com launched the feature in December 2024. In response, less than a month later, the CFTC announced that it would be reviewing two self-certified event contracts offered by the company and asked them to pause trading for 90 days. Later that year, in July 2025, the California Attorney General ruled that daily fantasy sports contests were unlawful sports wagering under state law, further pressuring alternative sports trading products.