California's Indian Tribe Community Might Pursue Online Gambling Rights

It was inevitable. The moment the U.S. Supreme Court decided it would not hear West Flagler's petition against Seminole control over sports betting in Florida, the wheels started turning. The court's decision was a clear sign that U.S. Indian Tribes can restructure their current compact agreements to allow for exclusive rights to offer online gambling access. Predictably, the Indian Tribes in California might well be the first ones to take the leap.

About The West Flagler Ruling

West Flagler is a company that runs commercial retail gaming services in Florida. The company's management was none too pleased when Florida's Seminole Indian Tribe signed a new compact with Governor Ron DeSantis, effectively giving them exclusive rights to offer online gambling access to Florida residents. West Flagler filed petitions through the court system to void the compact so they could get a piece of the online sports betting pie. At issue was the fact that while the online servers would be located on Indian land, the wagers would come from outside Seminole control. Was that a violation of the spirit of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

Initially, the 5th District Court shot down the new compact. At the request of the Department of the Interior, the 6th District Court was asked to look at and rule on the lower court's decision. They did and ruled the new compact was valid. West Flagler filed an appeal with the SCOTUS, an appeal that will not be heard.

California Tribes Looking to Duplicate Seminole Model

For over 5 years now, California legislators have been unable to get any movement on the question of retail and online sports betting in the state. Efforts have been blocked by Casino lobbyists from Nevada and a very powerful coalition of Indian Tribes (California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA)) from within the state. It's noteworthy that retail casino gambling in California is completely controlled by the state's Indian nation.

During 5 years of discussions about sports betting in California, CNIGA leaders have said no thanks. They have taken that position to block corporate gambling interests from having control over any form of gambling that might threaten Indian Tribe gambling revenue streams.

The Seminole ruling is a game-changer. CNIGA now has a model it can follow that gives its membership what it wants, exclusive control over online casino gambling and all forms of sports betting. Knowing they now have the leverage for which they have longed, it looks like CNIGA is forming an alliance that could bring sports betting access to California. That alliance looks like it will include the National Indian Gaming Association (IGA). The ability to block corporate control of California's sports betting market now seems to be in place.

In a Webcast with PlayUSA.com, CNIGA Chairman James Silva stated:

“We had a number of issues for why it didn’t move forward in California, but the approach of those large, billion-dollar corporations who essentially wanted to leave crumbs on the table for tribes and take the majority of revenue out of the state was never going to be something that worked for us. And now we have this kind of lawful path under IGRA that would allow tribes to keep the majority of that revenue here in the state.”