The Native American Seminole Tribe won an appeal in a federal court allowing them to offer sports betting in Florida due to their servers being located on tribal land. However, an appeal is likely and would delay that launch by months, if not years.
Round 1 Loss
There’s a legal battle going on in Florida and the fate of mobile sports betting is at stake. The first round belonged to West Flagler Associates, an entity owned by the Havenick family, which operates a brick-and-mortar casino and parimutuel wagering facility that would be an ideal spot for retail and online sports betting.
But the Seminole Tribe has a near monopoly on gaming in Florida and they would like that to extend to the retail, and more importantly, the virtual sports betting realm. Thus, we have one party that wants the entire sports betting pie while the other, West Flagler Associates, wants to share in the spoils but if they can’t have a slice, then they don’t want anyone to eat.
A lower court ruled that the Seminole Tribe could not operate sports betting, even though they went live for about a month. But although their servers were located on tribal land, the bets were being placed all around the state, making it a violation of the compact signed with the state, according to the judge.
Round 2 Win
Naturally, the Seminoles took the matter to a federal appellate court and the judge ruled the compact between the tribe and the state was illegal, which paved the way for the Seminole Tribe to offer online sports betting again. The judgment had two distinctly opposing reactions.
The tribe released a statement that read, “The Seminole Tribe of Florida is pleased with today’s unanimous decision. It is a positive outcome for the Seminole tribe and the people of Florida and for all Indian Country. The tribe is fully reviewing the decision to determine next steps.”
Will There Be Another Appeal?
And as for West Flagler, they could take this back to the appellate court to have the case re-heard or opt to bring it before the U.S. Supreme Court, where it is entirely possible it would be heard due to the novelty of the litigation. If the decision is appealed to either court, the timeline for mobile betting would change drastically.
Without an appeal, the first possible day for a mobile launch by the Seminoles would be August 21st, 2023 but with an appeal, that would be delayed by months or years until the case is heard.
Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, opined on the outcome and stated, “Any tribe that has any kind of gambling now has a blueprint to go back to their states and ask for mobile betting. You’re going to see expanded gaming operations by Indian tribes. Everybody is going to be clamoring for mobile betting. We always knew that having mobile sports betting was just the camel’s nose under the tent. The next logical step is to have a mobile gaming environment.”
James Lewis, an associate at Duane Morris LLP, had this to say about the verdict, “It gives them a certain bargaining power, leverage to get the same setup. They can say that they want ‘deemed approved’ language in our state and they are going to want that and point to the opinion and say, ‘It worked here.’ I think the federal decision has a lot of repercussions for other tribes. It’s a good sign.”
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