The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) may soon decide on a case that could drastically alter the gambling dynamics within the state of Florida. The Seminole Tribe has boldly launched their Hard Rock Bet platform in November of the previous year despite the fact that legal disputes in both the Florida Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court were still pending. In a pertinent lawsuit, West Flagler Associates (WFA) accused Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, and the state legislature of overstepping their bounds approving the gaming compact. However, on March 21, the Florida Supreme Court rebuffed their petition, indicating that WFA had chosen an inappropriate “vehicle” for their complaint.
In the most recent legal development, WFA submitted a supplemental brief for their writ of certiorari that currently awaits the consideration of SCOTUS. Their lawyers underscored that the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to deny the petition hinged on the argument that the case pushed the “limits of a quo warranto” filing—a type of legal action questioning authority. Moreover, the Florida Supreme Court’s interpretation of the scope of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is reportedly at odds with the opinion of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued in June 2023.
The gambling dispute in Florida stems from the Department of Interior’s (DOI) approval of a 2021 compact. This most recent solicitation to SCOTUS by WFA lawyers references Justice Meredith Sasso’s opinion expressed during the Florida Supreme Court’s denial of WFA’s petition. Justice Sasso elucidated, “Among other forms of gambling, the compact authorizes mobile sports betting by which participants may place sports wagers with the Seminole Tribe via a mobile device. Participants may be anywhere in Florida—not just on tribal land—when they place a wager. However, irrespective of the bet’s physical origin, it is ‘deemed’ to occur on tribal lands.”
This contentious opinion mirrors the turbulent history of gambling in Florida. The Hard Rock Bet platform had been initially launched in 2021, but a legal injunction put a halt to its operation. Now, after a recent relaunch, the central question is whether its continued operation is legal. The appellate court back in June 2023 had overturned a lower-court ruling that had prevented the Seminoles from offering online betting, and while their decision appears to allow the Seminoles to operate their platform presently, it was noted that “the compact should be ‘interpreted’ as not authorizing any off-reservation gambling.”
The WFA legal team also highlighted to SCOTUS that the denial of the petition by the Florida Supreme Court means that there is no danger of a potential SCOTUS ruling being rendered moot. With the DOI’s response to WFA’s initial brief due by April 12, SCOTUS is expected to soon begin deliberating whether to hear the case. It remains unknown when a decision on this petition will be issued.
This upcoming legal confrontation holds significant weight for the future of gambling in Florida, and stakeholders within the betting industry, tribal communities, and the legal sphere are eagerly anticipating the potential implications of SCOTUS’s involvement in this high-stakes controversy.
