Florida Sports Betting Faces Another Major Obstacle in the Form of a Lawsuit
Contents
Floridians hopeful for sports betting to launch in the coming months will be disappointed by the latest news of yet another lawsuit against the Florida gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe. West Flagler Associates, on behalf of Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room, filed a federal lawsuit against Deb Haaland, the Secretary of the US Department of the Interior. The West Flagler Associates lawsuit challenges Haaland’s approval of the 2021 Florida gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe on a number of grounds.
Florida’s Seminole Tribe and Sports Betting
Florida has been working through sports betting legislation since the US Supreme Court’s landmark overturning of the Professional and Amateur Sports Participation Act in 2018. That Supreme Court decision paved the path for the legalization of sports betting on a state-by-state basis.
In Florida, the Seminole Tribe has claimed an exclusive right to offer sports betting to Floridians, and this claim has held up prior legislative attempts that have not included the Seminoles. The Seminoles previously withheld their annual gaming payment of $330 million to the state in 2020 in the advent of sports betting deal not coming to fruition.
Florida’s Gaming Compact
In April 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new compact with the Seminole Tribe which would provide the tribe with exclusive sports betting rights in the state. The compact is expected to bring $2.5 million to the state over the next five years with annual payments of at least $500 million. The compact could bring $6 billion to Florida over the next 30 years which would be used for education and other governmental initiatives.
The 30-year gaming compact was neither approved nor denied by the Department of the Interior and went into effect without a ruling as it was “considered to have been approved by operation of law to the extent that it complies with IGRA and existing Federal law.”
West Flagler Associates Lawsuit
On behalf of Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room, this new lawsuit alleges the gaming compact in the state of Florida unlawfully allows the Seminole Tribe to operate sports betting outside of tribal lands which is not permitted by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). The Seminole Tribe, in return, claims that the internet servers that process bets are housed on tribal lands, so the bets are technically placed on tribal lands.
The plaintiffs stated that the IGRA only permits Secretary Deb Haaland to approve compacts “to the extent that they concern ‘gaming on Indian lands.'” They also said the compact breaches federal laws by “unlawfully permitting internet and bank wire transmission of transactions and payments related to sports betting between the tribe’s reservations and the rest of Florida, where sports betting is otherwise illegal.”
The plaintiffs in this lawsuit also claim that the gaming compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe violates the Fifth Amendment by providing the Seminoles with an unlawful monopoly. “It was arbitrary and capricious, unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful for Secretary Haaland to approve a Compact giving the Seminole Tribe a monopoly on online sports betting throughout Florida.”
What Happens Next?
The gaming compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe had previously identified October 15 as the earliest date for sports betting to launch, but this is now very unlikely with the new lawsuit. Florida could also be facing additional complications from No Casinos Inc. which is reportedly planning to file several lawsuits at the state and federal levels.
DraftKings and FanDuel, two of the powerhouse sports betting operators in the United States, have each contributed $10 million to the Florida Education Champions political committee to fight the gaming compact. DraftKings and FanDuel also backed a 2022 ballot initiative published by the Florida Division of Elections that would authorize sports and event betting at professional venues and pari-mutuel facilities.
With all of these legal complications, it seems unlikely that Florida is able to launch sports betting before the end of 2021 as was previously hoped. Legislators must sort out conflicting interests both on the state and federal levels before a launch can take place. In any case, Florida’s population of 21.5 million makes it the third-largest state in the country and it should become one of the most profitable sports betting markets within the next couple of years.
