SCOTUS Stay Puts a Temporary Stop on Sports Betting Progress in Florida

The Florida sports betting saga moves closer to resolution one way or another. After an emergency request by West Flagler, Chief Justice John Roberts has ordered a temporary stay against the Seminole Tribe's exclusive rights to handle sports betting in the state. The SCOTUS's stay was issued on October 12, 2023, effective immediately.

After the D.C. Circuit Court recently denied West Flagler's request for a stay on October 11, West Flagler's lawyers made clear they would take the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. That fight started on the same day that the D.C. District Court ruled they would not permit a stay nor would they reverse the Court's prior decision. That support was for a new Indian compact between the Seminoles and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

As a reminder, the original issue stems from the signing of the new compact in 2021, which effectively gave the Seminole Tribe control over sports betting in Florida. West Flagler, a commercial gambling conglomerate in Florida, objected to the signing of the new compact on the grounds it violated the Florida State Constitution and the spirit of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (IGRA). The IRGA gives U.S. Indian Tribes the right to offer various forms of casino gambling as long as the gambling takes place on Indian Land.

After exhausting every other legal challenge, West Flagler was left with one final challenge with the SCOTUS.

What West Flagler Wants

It's not that West Flagler wants to deny the Seminoles the right to run retail and mobile sports betting operations. It is the exclusive rights issue that has the company upset. Clearly, they want a piece of Florida's potentially lucrative sports betting pie. They further want the issue presented to Florida voters as opposed to the issue being settled in an office between Seminole leadership and the government.

Initially, a lower court struck down the new compact based on the idea that while all mobile sports betting would run through servers on Indian land, that did not constitute the actual gambling taking place on Indian land. In fact, the wagers would be coming from all over the state. On October 6, the D.S. District Court decided the new contract did not violate the IGRA.

What Follows

Justice Roberts has requested that West Flagler's attorneys file a hearing application response by October 18. From that point, West Flagler'sattorneys have stated they will submit a petition for writ of certiorari to SCOTUS by no later than November 20, which is 21 days ahead of the statutory requirement.

For now, the victims of this upheaval are Florida residents who have been waiting patiently for the right to bet on sports from their home state. If the SCOTUS declines to hear the case, the Seminole Tribe is prepared to start accepting sports bets in short order. If the SCOTUS agrees to a hearing, everything will be put on hold until a final ruling is made.

At this point, there is no indication of how this saga is going to end. However, it is going to eventually end.