The Seminole Tribe had gotten the green light to relaunch sports betting in Florida but a motion by their archnemesis, gaming entity West Flagler Associates, has once again kept regulated sports betting from those residing in the Sunshine State.
Motion to Stay
The motion to stay filed by West Flagler Associates is the most recent in a series of legal machinations between one party that wants sports betting open to commercial sportsbooks while another wants it all to themselves.
West Flagler Associates has been in court fighting the prospect of Native American tribes in the state having a monopoly on sports betting. In the most recent legal maneuver, West Flagler Associates filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to prohibit the Seminoles’ Hard Rock Bet from launching before its appeal to the Supreme Court is accepted or rejected.
Prior to their appeal to the Supreme Court, West Flagler lost its case against the Secretary of the Interior, Debra Haaland, on June 30th in West Flagler v. Haaland which decided that the compact between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida did not violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). This was a reversal of a U.S. District Court decision that decided in favor of West Flagler.
NFL Betting and Beyond Hangs in the Balance
The motion will likely delay the launch of sports betting by the Seminole Tribe until at least Monday of next week which will mean Floridians will be unable to make a wager on Week 3 of the NFL season.
If the motion is denied then the Seminoles will launch as soon as possible but if the DC Circuit court grants the motion, then it will delay licensed online sports betting in Florida for as long as the SCOTUS takes to adjudicate the case which could be years from now.
“This is a very important issue to West Flagler and others,” said Jeff Ifrah, founding member of Ifrah Law. “There may not be another court that will agree to resolve this particular issue as it pertains to Florida. It makes sense that West Flagler would therefore seek a stay.”
What Are the Chances?
Despite West Flagler Associates losing their most recent bid for a rehearing, it does not mean its chances of getting a favorable verdict on their motion to stay is out of the question.
“A stay is an unusual remedy that can be granted for novel issues,” Ifrah said. “A stay requires West Flagler to demonstrate it can win on further appeal. Although the en banc court did not accept West Flagler’s arguments that does not necessarily mean its request for a stay will be denied.”
West Flagler’s petition cited many of its arguments in its Supreme Court plea, among them was the DC Circuit’s decision “enables an extreme shift in public policy on legalized gaming that, once started, may be difficult to stop. It is therefore in the public interest to preserve the status quo with respect to online gaming until such time as the Supreme Court has had a chance to review [West Flagler’s appeal].”
*Bookmakers Review will continue to monitor this story and update our readers as events unfold.
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