Coming in early 2026, Governor Ron DeSantis will officially leave office, which will have an overall impact on Florida betting news as we know it. DeSantis made history by agreeing to the 30-year sports betting pact with The Seminole Tribe, with legal wagers arriving to make everyone happy. Now, though, Kalshi getting involved with Florida's Governor race impacts sports betting could impact things as we know it.

That's because according to multiple reports, Kalshi has been donating to candidate Byron Donalds' campaign, as he's hoping to become the next Governor in the state. Why does this matter? Because as of now, Florida has not been taking any legal action against prediction markets being in operation. This isn't the case in other states, as plenty are looking to get things shut down as soon as possible.

That indeed has not been the case in the Sunshine State, despite legal sports betting as a whole being on the table. One important thing to note here too is that President Donald Trump has endorsed Donalds. With that, Trump is a major advocate of the prediction markets, so things are really going into play here. It will be interesting to see if Donalds wins this race or not, but the ties to the prediction markets can't be ignored.

Might this complicate the relationship with the local tribes? It doesn't seem to look that way, as The Seminole Tribe has also shown strong support for Donalds and what he's trying to get done moving forward. For now, he seems to be in a great spot to win this race and take over for DeSantis, but nothing will be finalized until the vote takes place. Only time will tell how things go down here, but it will be something for people to keep a close eye on.

Florida sports betting keeps on booming even with prediction markets in place

While there are some outside factors coming, it's important to keep in mind that Florida sports betting keeps on booming even with prediction markets in place. We all saw how electric things were this summer, as World Cup betting was on fire and people were pretty excited to see the numbers on the rise. With the Hard Rock App being the focus for online betting, people were quick to bet on the action, especially with games being played in Miami.

With that, there was also a lot of action through the prediction markets. It's interesting why some people would use Kalshi or PolyMarket despite the Hard Rock App being available, but that's how things have been going down. Moving forward, it seems like both options are going to continue to be available, as the current support for Donalds sure has a lot of people taking and rightfully so.

With the prediction markets being regulated federally, and Trump having a say in things, it strongly hints that Donalds and Florida won't go the same route as California, Texas, Wisconsin and others in terms of lawsuits. Yes, the Hard Rock App will continue to be the go-to source for sports bettors in the state, but

NFL betting is set to take center stage in Florida in the coming months

Taking a look at things as a whole, the preseason is here for football action and NFL betting is set to take center stage in Florida in the coming months. In the state alone, the Dolphins, Bucs and Jaguars have high hopes for this year, and their fans are going to be ready to bet big on them. With the Bucs, the drama with Baker Mayfield's contract is an issue, but the hope is things will get resolved soon.

Obviously, NFL betting is massive year-round, but in August and September, things tend to be pretty high because people are so fired up for the action to be back in full force. The game has changed for people in Florida too as things are legal. From the moment things were activated, it allowed for people to say goodbye to illegal options and get their wagers in both in-person and online.

That's of course going to be the case during the 2026 season too, as countless teams, including the ones in Florida, are going to hope to take down the Seattle Seahawks, who won the title last year. The local teams aren't the only teams people in Florida are going to bet on, as the Rams hold the Super Bowl betting odds too. Once Week 1 gets here too, you better believe that bets are going to be coming in at a high rate.