West Flagler Takes Florida Sports Betting Feud to the Florida Supreme Court

After the D.C. Courts of Appeals recently made clear they didn't feel West Flagler had the basis to dispute the Seminole Tribe's exclusive rights to sports betting in Florida, West Flagler only has one fighting option remaining. They are exercising that last option by filing a state constitutional challenge with the Florida Supreme Court.

The conflict is based on a new Indian compact that was signed in 2021 between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Seminole leadership. The compact effectively gave the Seminoles exclusive rights to offer retail and mobile sports betting access to Florida residents. West Flagler and a couple of other in-state commercial gambling interests disputed the legality of the new compact based on existing language in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (IRGA). The Department of Interior stands with the new compact.

Basis of West Flagler's Dispure

West Flagler's dispute focuses on language in the IRGA that makes clear that the nation's Indian Tribes can offer various forms of gambling as long as the gambling takes place on Indian land. Lawyers for West Flagler claim that by offering mobile sports betting to Florida residents all over the state, the Seminoles are violating the spirit of IGRA even if the mobile servers are located on Indian land.

Note: West Flagler runs Florida card rooms and the Flagler Dog Track. Their interest in this issue is they want access to a piece of the sports betting pie.

Basis for Filing With Florida Supreme Court

Raquel A. Rodriguez of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC has been selected to represent West Flagler and has formally filed a Florida Supreme Court petition. The language of the petition claims that the 2021 compact signed by the Seminoles and Gov. DeSantis violates Amendment 3 of the state's constitution. Here is some of the language in the petition:

“Under the Florida Constitution, the People must approve any new casino gambling in the state through the citizens’ initiative process — the off-reservation sports betting provisions of the 2021 Compact and the off-reservation portions of the Implementing Law violate Article X, Section 30 of the Florida Constitution.”

In other words, West Flagler's lawyers are claiming that Gov. DeSantis exceeded his authority by signing a new compact that allows the Seminoles to participate in any kind of gambling that would take place off of Indian land.

Current State of Sports Gambling in Florida

Technically, the Seminoles could be taking sports bets through their Hard Rock Casinos in Florida. To this point, they have decided to hold back until most of these legal actions have been exhausted.

Currently, the Department of the Interior (DOI) is contemplating a stay against its own ruling, pending more hearings. After filing a request for this stay on September 15, West Flagler now has until October 2 to respond to the DOI's likely decision to pass on the stay.

If the Florida Supreme Court does decide to hear the case, they would likely issue a temporary stay against the Seminoles taking bets. In that case, it's very likely that sports betting won't see the light of day in Florida until next year.