Sports Betting Court Battles Continue In FloridaSeminoles Online Betting Plans Face Review By State Supreme Court |
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The twists and turns in the Florida sports betting saga are now two years in the making and the legal wranglings continued last week. After some recent wins at the federal level, Gov. Ron DeSantis® and the Seminole tribe are now facing obstacles at the state court level.
After some defeats in federal court, Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room argued that the state’s 2021 agreement with the tribe granting the Seminoles the right to run online sports betting doesn’t align with a 2018 constitutional amendment approved by voters that bars more gaming expansion.
Details On The Challenges
On Sept. 26, attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a “writ of quo warranto” with the state Supreme Court. In essence, this is a move arguing that the court the state’s compact update with the Seminoles should be ruled invalid because it doesn’t comport with current law. That includes filing a Notice of Constitutional Question, which outlines the plaintiff’s arguments.
Under the agreement with the state, the Seminoles could accept online wagers from anywhere in Florida rather than just on tribal lands. Some critics have argued that this greatly expands what tribal groups are allowed to do.
The Notice of Constitutional Question asks the court: “Whether the off-reservation sports betting provisions of the 2021 gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and laws authorizing sports betting by persons not physically present on tribal lands exceed the Governor and Legislature’s authority because they do not meet the exception … of the Florida Constitution with respect to gaming ‘on tribal lands’ pursuant to a compact under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and, thus, violate the prohibition against expanding casino gambling without voter approval?”
Moving Forward With Online Betting?
Despite not making an announcement of the tribe’s own plans so far, there is the possibility that the Seminoles could launch online betting again while the state legal battle plays out. A federal appeals court ruled in the Seminoles’ favor in June and that was affirmed on Sept. 28 when the U.S. District Court of Appeals denied the plaintiffs’ request to stay that ruling.
That means the compact is still in force and technically the Seminoles can operate their sports betting platform. However, some legal experts have argued the case really hinged on state legal challenges.
“It doesn’t matter that this court decided that IGRA (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act) allows the Secretary of Interior to approve compacts for off-reservation gambling,” Rose writes on his Gambling and the Law blog. “The decision does not bind any state nor any tribe, not even Florida nor the Seminoles, neither of whom were parties to the suit. Further, the Court itself made it clear the issue depends entirely upon state law, not IGRA (the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act).”
The Seminoles haven’t commented about a potential launch. The Florida Supreme Court has also yet to rule on the agreement’s constitutionality but is expected to in the coming weeks. This could be the end of the line for the issue in the state.
Gaming law expert and attorney Daniel Wallach told FOX-4 Florida: “This is the battleground of the future of sports wager in Florida.”
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