Florida Clarifies Daily Fantasy Sports Position

Florida has just taken an official stance on daily fantasy sports. And it might be one that surprises you.

As part of a wide-ranging bill that also seeks to heavily crack down on illegal sports betting, The Sunshine State is proposing a structure that would allow daily fantasy sports sites to operate under regulation. This is the gist of the measure anyway. It has some other legs to it.

“The gambling bill would regulate daily fantasy sports operators, which have operated in the grey market in Florida,” writes iGaming Business’ Pat Evans. “It defines fantasy sports as a contest with an entry fee where a user controls a simulated sports team. It includes language that outcomes cannot be based on individual performance and the contests cannot involve collegiate participants.”

Putting a concrete blueprint for daily fantasy sports on the books is a big step for Florida. In many ways, it represents a stark shift from their previous stance.

Florida Seems to be Changing Stance on Daily Fantasy Sports

It initially looked like The Sunshine State would take a hard-line position against DFS sites. Generally speaking, they have at every turn looked to prioritize the exclusivity of sports betting in Florida. The Seminole Tribe is the only operator allowed to offer such services. And while DFS sites have long maintained their business exists in a separate arena, Florida didn’t always see it that way.

As Evans adds to his overview of the bill:

“The Florida Attorney General’s Office sent cease-and-desist letters to Betr, PrizePicks and Underdog for offering prop-style games in 2024. The Seminole tribe of Florida does not comment on proposed legislation but does support efforts to eliminate illegal gambling. The Seminoles hold sports betting exclusivity in the state through a state-tribal compact, in addition to operating Las Vegas-style resort casinos. FanDuel and DraftKings pumped nearly $40 million into a failed ballot initiative attempt to legalize commercial sports betting in 2022.”

This general reluctance to consider commercial sports betting opportunities pointed to Florida remaining steadfastly against DFS operators. The language in the current bill, however, implies that state officials have either shifted their view, or they don’t see a plausible path to shuddering daily fantasy sports in Florida and are adjusting accordingly.

To be honest, it is likely a little of both. As we continue to see with the proliferation of online sports betting in the United States, effective regulation is incredibly difficult to execute. It is especially hard to enforce rules against activities deemed illegal. There will always be workarounds—cracks in the armor.

Many officials, in fact, have come to view the regulation of legal activities as easier to carry out. No, you cannot always count on companies and individuals to self-report. And employed officials will invariably miss certain infractions. Even so, by opening up certain pathways, you are creating easier access not only for consumers, but for the state itself.

The Seminole Tribe May Also Be On Board with Florida’s DFS Bill

Like Evans notes, the Seminole Tribe does not comment on active legislation in Florida. With that said, given the nature of their gaming compact, we can reasonably assume they approve.

It does not behoove The Sunshine State to pursue legislation that infringes upon the Seminoles’ business model. Florida has no other source of revenue from sports betting. The estimated $6 billion the Seminole tribe will pay them through 2030 is the entire kit and kaboodle.

Sure, regulating daily fantasy sports accesses another potential revenue stream for the state. But if the Seminole Tribe believes there’s enough overlap, they probably have the influence to kill it. The state stands to make way more off their agreement with them than any DFS companies.

It might be a different story if we were talking about general online sports betting in Florida being open to sites such as DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, etc. Daily fantasy sports is more of a niche market. Even if there is some overlap, it’s tough to imagine it seriously eating into the Seminole Tribe’s profits.

Furthermore, we have to consider the Seminoles’ sports betting reach at the moment. They might be more apt to oppose DFS in Florida if they were limited to on-site gambling opportunities. They are not. Their interpretation of the gaming compact is so far holding it up. And it has allowed them to offer Florida sports betting from anywhere in the state through their Hard Rock Bet app.

So while we don’t want to put words in their mouth, the Seminole Tribe may not see much of a reason to fight the legality of Florida daily fantasy sports.

Stay Tuned to See Whether This Florida DFS Bill Succeeds

Despite murmurings of this legislation for a while, we don’t yet know whether it will pass. The details were only just finalized, which has limited the amount of concrete information. And we can’t expect much else to trickle out before it’s put on the big stage.

Fortunately, the Florida state legislature will begin meeting on January 13. So, we should have answers soon. Although consideration can drag out, there will likely be urgency attached to this agenda. The sports betting industry and anything adjacent tends to move fast. Just look at the recent explosion of prediction markets as proof.

Oddly enough, prediction markets will be addressed as part of this bill, too. It will be interesting to see whether the Seminole Tribe and, by extension, the state provide more push-back on this subject. Prediction markets, after all, pose more of an existential threat to traditional sports betting.

At any rate, though, Florida’s daily fantasy sports stance has seemingly evolved. Whether that actually results in the approval of formal regulation remains to be seen.

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