Florida Sports Betting Lawsuit: Plaintiffs Say Indian Gaming Regulations Don’t Cover Online Gaming

The cassino and fire hook room that sued to city block the Seminole Tribe of Sunshine State from offering online sports betting in the Sunshine State issued a movement Thursday. The federal appeals homage papers continues their elbow grease to bowl over a pact allowing the Seminoles to check Sunshine State online betting.

The filing by the Magic City Casino and the Bonita Springs Poker Room inwards the US Circuit Margaret Court of Appeals for the District of capital of South Carolina Circuit is the in vogue(p) inwards a sound instance against the US Department of the Interior and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. The activeness could bear upon what tribal gaming operators canful offer.

It’s a complex case, as both the plaintiffs and the federal government activity controvert a question by the Seminole Tribe to live included inward the showcase so it canful seek its dismissal.

“While the federal governance and the folk both seek reversal, the tribe’s preferred itinerary is in stress with electric circuit precedent and, if adopted, could functionally nullify the (Administrative Procedure Act’s) waiver of federal sovereign immunity inwards the astray swath of cases where federal office litigate benefits a federation of tribes or province that cannot be joined to judicial proceeding without consent,” the Interior Department stated inward its filing on Monday.

The instance started more than a yr ago, with Magic City and Bonita Springs filing their suit. That’s after the Interior Department allowed an amended thickset 'tween the tribe and the res publica of Everglade State to live deemed as approved. That stocky included a proviso allowing the Seminole Tribe to tender online sports betting statewide, and the plaintiffs argued – and US District Judge Dabney Friedrich agreed – that the heavyset went against the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which pertains to gaming on tribal lands.

‘Zero Doubt’

In its filing Thursday, lawyers for Magic City and Bonita Springs contend that the Seminole Tribe should not be allowed to join because both the federation of tribes and the Interior Department deal a mutual goal: “To represent the legality of the secretary’s determination approbatory the compact.”

Beyond that, the plaintiffs indicate the Interior and the folk do specious arguments that the online gaming aspects of the heavyset are covered past Sunshine State law.

The put down leaves cipher uncertainty that the thick was intended to obtain IGRA authorisation for the betting it permits from away American Indian lands,” the plaintiffs’ filing states. “That is the only path such gaming could be authorized inward Sunshine State without a referendum, and that is what the folk and FL sought-after(a) to obtain. But IGRA cannot pass such gambling, and the territorial dominion royal court was right to vitiate the IGRA approval.”

The electric circuit tribunal has yet to schedule oral exam arguments in the case.

Whatever decision the DC Circuit makes in the example will almost certainly acquire appealed past the losing side. Most likely, that would turn consecutive to the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court does not feature to concur to read on the instance if that happens.

If the courts final stage up ruling for the Interior Department, or if the Seminole Tribe is allowed to join, it could Pb to an enlargement of online gaming opportunities for tribal nations crossways the country. However, it’s non potential to live settled at any clip in the near future.

Florida Sports Betting Overview

In Apr 2021, the Seminole Tribe and Sunshine State Gov. Ron DeSantis in agreement(p) to an amended gaming pack that, among other items, gave the folk exclusive rights to control sports betting. That’s including statewide online wagering. The tell legislative assembly so sanctioned the 30-year trade inwards a special session.

In exchange for receiving sports betting exclusivity, as substantially as the rights to offer up snake eyes and line roulette at its casinos, the Seminole Tribe agreed to pretend payments to the state. That includes a amount of $2.5 billion o'er the first 5 years.

The amended pack also called for the folk to create a “hub-and-spoke” sports betting electronic network with pari-mutuel gaming operators ilk Magic City and Bonita Springs. Under that plan, sanctioned pari-mutuel operators would receive to innkeeper sports betting kiosks and use up a portion out of the proceeds.

Magic City and Bonita Springs sued the US Department of the Interior, arguing the federal agency should feature rejected the understanding because the online and kiosk sports betting provisions violated IGRA. They also noted that they could non bid sports betting on their have if they were non constituent of the tribe’s network, and that would injure their businesses.

Friedrich concurred in her ruling endure November, and she invalidated the amended thick between the folk and the res publica of Florida. That in the end led the Seminoles, which had launched its Hard John Rock Sportsbook earliest that month, to shut it down inward early December.