The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dealt a blow to opponents of the compact, rejecting a challenge to the compact that gave the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to handle online sports betting in Florida. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the challengers’ challenge to the compact, which promises to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits to the tribe and the state. The decision was the latest setback for West Flagler Associates and Bonita Fort Myers Inc., which operate horse racing tracks and poker rooms in Florida. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in March that the companies filed the wrong type of petition challenging the 2021 compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis. “What’s significant about today’s announcement is that it removes the most significant barrier to online sports betting in Florida,” said Daniel Wallach, a South Florida lawyer and sports betting law expert who filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to take up the case or overturn it entirely. The companies claim the U.S. Department of the Interior wrongly approved the agreement, even though it gives tribes a sports betting monopoly in the nation’s third-most populous state and violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which requires gambling to take place on tribal lands. The plaintiffs questioned whether online sports betting, which allows bets to be placed from anywhere in Florida, is considered to be on tribal lands if only the computer servers hosting the betting services are located there. They said Gov. DeSantis and the state Legislature, who approved the agreement, improperly approved it and exceeded tribes’ authority by authorizing sports betting outside tribal lands. In their state court challenge, they argued the deal creates a backdoor to a requirement passed by voters in 2018 as an amendment to the Florida Constitution that requires a citizen initiative for the expansion of casino gambling outside tribal lands. The tribes have argued that the Legislature has the authority to decide where online gambling can begin and that the amendment does nothing to change that. DeSantis’ lawyers and legislative leaders have said sports betting is different from casino gambling and therefore not prohibited by the amendment. The tribe launched its online sports betting operations late last year, and Florida’s share of the revenue for 2024 has already topped $120 million. State economic forecasters project that revenue sharing from tribal gaming could total $4.4 billion by the end of the century. Monday’s decision could inspire other tribes to follow the same path to operate online betting, Wallach said. “Tribes in other states will benefit from this decision because they have a clear roadmap that has gone through judicial review,” Wallach said. “We’re hopeful that other states will step up their efforts.”
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge to an agreement that gave the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to online sports betting in Florida, dealing a blow to opponents of the agreement.
The nation’s highest court has rejected petitions by opponents of the compact, which promises hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits to tribes and states.
The ruling marks the latest setback for West Flagler Associates and Bonita Fort Myers Inc., which operate horse racing tracks and poker rooms in Florida. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in March that a petition the companies filed challenging a 2021 compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration was the wrong type.
“What’s significant about today’s announcement is that it removes the most significant barrier to online sports betting in Florida,” said Daniel Wallach, a South Florida lawyer and sports betting law expert who filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the case or overturn it entirely.
The companies claim the U.S. Department of the Interior erroneously approved the agreement, even though it gives the tribe a sports betting monopoly in the nation’s third-most populous state and violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which requires gambling to take place on tribal lands.
The plaintiffs questioned whether online sports betting, which allows bets to be placed from anywhere in Florida, could be considered to be on tribal land if only the computer servers hosting the betting services are located there.
They argue that Governor DeSantis and the state Legislature, who approved the compact, improperly exceeded their authority by authorizing sports betting outside of tribal lands.
In their state court challenge, they argued the deal created a backdoor for a requirement that voters passed as an amendment to the Florida Constitution in 2018 that requires a citizen initiative to expand casino gambling off tribal lands. The tribes argued that the power to determine where online gambling can begin lies with the state Legislature and that the amendment doesn’t change that.
DeSantis’ lawyers and legislative leaders say sports betting is different from casino gambling and therefore not prohibited by the amendment.
Tribes launched their online sports betting operations late last year, and Florida’s share of the revenue has already topped $120 million for 2024. State economic forecasters have projected that tribal gaming revenue sharing could total $4.4 billion by the end of the decade.
Wallach said Monday’s decision could encourage other tribes to follow the same path to operate online gambling.
“Tribes in other states will also benefit from this decision because they now have a clear roadmap that has gone through judicial review,” Wallach said. “We’re hopeful that other states will step up their efforts.”
