Sports Betting Rumblings in Florida

Late in 2021, a lower federal court ruled that a new Indian compact that was signed between the Seminole Tribe and Florida Governor Ron Desantis was invalid. They ruled it was invalid on the basis that the new compact violated certain clauses of the federal Indian Gaming Rights Act (IGRA).

It's worth noting the new compact was given a thumbs up by US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. With that thumbs up, the Seminole Tribe was granted exclusive rights to offer retail mobile sports betting for the benefit of people in Florida. For a short time, the Seminoles started taking sports wagers through a couple of their retail casinos. That was brought to a halt by the lower court's ruling.

The Issue at Hand

Here's the issue at hand. The federal Indian Gaming Rights Act (IGRA) only allows the nation's Indian tribes to offer retail gambling if it's being managed on Indian land. The new compact was passed based on the fact all mobile sports betting was to be run through servers on Indian land. The Seminole Tribe believes that qualifies as offering sports betting from Indian land. Other non-Tribal gambling concerns disagreed and sued to have the compact overturned, something that was granted by the lower court's ruling.

With the filing of West Flagler Associates, et al v. Debra Haaland in the lower court, the U.S. Department was pulled into the suit due to its obligation to defend The Department of the Interior. After looking at the case, the DOJ has decided it's going to side with Haaland's decision.

According to lawyers for the DOJ, it isn't a question of whether or not the tribe has the right to offer sports betting through servers on their land. If the Governor and the Seminole Tribe reached an agreement, it's really none of the Department of the Interior's business. In order words, The Department of the Interior has no jurisdiction in the matter, which means the lower court's overruling of Haaland's decision is subsequently invalid. According to the DOJ, this should serve as the basis for the appellate court to vacate the lower court’s ruling.

What Happens Now?

At this point, it would seem that the Seminole Tribe has the right to reopen its retail sportsbooks. They would also seem to have the right to start offering and accepting mobile sports bets. Will they is another question.

This issue is far from over. West Flagler owns the Magic City Casino in the greater Miami area. Online gambling concerns Fanduel and Draftkings are heavily invested in the battle for sports betting rights in Florida. None of these parties are likely to take any adverse ruling lightly.

The simple truth is this entire case is very likely going to end up with the U.S. Supreme Court. With close to 21.5 million residents in a state that are heavily influenced by professional and college sports, there is a lot of sports betting gross revenue on the line. This case is going to the wire.