TLDR
- Gambling and prediction market companies have donated more than $12 million to Florida political campaigns ahead of the 2026 election.
- The Seminole Tribe gave about $9 million, including $4 million to governor candidate Byron Donalds.
- FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, PrizePicks and Underdog donated despite being shut out of Florida’s regulated sports betting market.
- Prediction market companies Kalshi and Robinhood gave hundreds of thousands of dollars, mostly to Donalds.
- Susquehanna co-founder Jeff Yass gave $11 million combined to Donalds and a political committee supporting him.
Gambling and gaming companies have given more than $12 million to Florida political campaigns ahead of the 2026 election. The money is going to candidates and committees before the main election contests even begin.
Campaign finance records show most of the funding came from the Seminole Tribe. The tribe gave about $9 million in total.
The Seminole Tribe owns Hard Rock International. It also holds the only rights to run online sports betting in Florida under a 2021 gaming agreement.
That agreement treats mobile sports bets placed anywhere in Florida as if they happened on tribal land. This gives the tribe full control over the state’s legal online sports betting market through Hard Rock Bet.
Byron Donalds, the leading Republican candidate for governor, received the largest share of industry donations. He has taken in more than $6 million from gambling related groups.
The Seminole Tribe alone gave Donalds $4 million. Other Republican campaigns also received tribal money, including Wilton Simpson’s committee and Senate leader Jim Boyd’s committee.
Sportsbooks and Prediction Markets Both Donate
FanDuel gave $581,000 through July, with nearly all of it going to Donalds. DraftKings’ parent company, DK Crown Holdings, gave about $525,000, also mostly to his campaign.
Caesars Entertainment contributed $245,000. The Sports Betting Alliance, which represents DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, BetMGM and bet365, gave $250,000, all to Donalds.
Fantasy sports companies also donated. PrizePicks’ parent company gave close to $400,000, and Underdog Sports gave more than $280,000.
Prediction market companies joined the spending too. Kalshi gave $268,000 in total, including $75,000 to Donalds. Robinhood gave $200,000, all to Donalds.
Jeff Yass, co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, added his own money outside the companies. He gave $7.5 million directly to Donalds and another $3.5 million to a political committee that backed him.
Susquehanna also has ties to the prediction market industry. The firm co-owns a trading exchange called Rothera along with Robinhood.
Prediction Markets Face Legal Questions
None of these prediction market companies hold a Florida gaming license. They are also not part of the Seminole compact.
Prediction markets let users trade contracts tied to the outcome of sports events. Some states argue this counts as gambling under state law, while the companies say federal rules cover them instead.
Florida has not moved to restrict prediction markets so far. That makes the outcome of the governor’s race matter more to companies in the space.
Donalds has close ties to President Donald Trump, who has endorsed his campaign for governor. Trump has spoken in favor of prediction markets, and his son, Donald Trump Jr., works as a paid adviser to Kalshi and has invested in Polymarket.
Outside the governor’s race, the Seminole Tribe also gave $50,000 to former Gov. Charlie Crist for his campaign for mayor of St. Petersburg. The donation has drawn attention because of the tribe’s interest in a large property in the city.
Crist’s campaign said the tribe’s support is about having effective local government, not a specific development deal.
Donalds’ campaign has said gambling donations will not shape his decisions if he is elected governor. The donations do not show how he would handle prediction markets as governor.
Filings through the end of July show the gambling industry spending heavily before Florida voters even reach the main election. The Seminole Tribe remains the largest donor, but sportsbook and prediction market companies are now spending their own money in the race as well.
