A day after a Florida judge ruled that the Seminole Tribe’s sports betting and casino expansion deal had breached federal Indian gambling laws, the tribe continues to collect wagers on its sports betting app.
Judge Dabney L. Friedrich of the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia ruled that the tribe’s 30-year monopoly on sports betting originally approved by both chambers was unlawful.
However, lawyers acting on behalf of the tribe took immediate action by filing a notice of appeal and a motion for stay pending appeal urging the judge to put a temporary halt on the ruling. The tribe has now requested that the Judge also let them know within the next 24 hours whether or not she will allow the stay while its legal team prepares an appeal.
In a statement filed with the appeal late on Tuesday, Marcellus W. Osceola, chairman of the tribe said:
“The tribe’s online sports betting authorized by the compact is now in operation, and is generating millions in revenue per week. The tribe is using these funds to pay back the development costs for its online sports book, make revenue-sharing payments to the state and fund important tribal programs.”
The documents filed with the court state that the ruling will cause ‘irreparable harm’ to the tribe’s economic interests and as a result the local economy and jobs market.
The Seminole Tribe’s online sports betting products have only been online for a month, lawyers have stated that the tribe would lose substantial revenue with that revenue currently being used to fund essential local programs.
Osceola’s statement also noted that the tribe has already paid the state $75 million as a result of revenue-sharing agreements under the new compact. He also states that the tribe has spent over $25 million developing the online sportsbook and hiring 237 additional employees and vendors.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference on Tuesday that while he was aware of the ruling and the tribe’s desire to appeal, he had yet to read the details of the judge’s decision.
However he did say:
“We structured the compact so that the compact is preserved for the casinos and the other stuff. So we’re going to still be getting revenue, obviously we’ll get less revenue from sports betting if they’re not able to do hub and spoke.”
In the original ruling made late on Friday, Judge Friedrich said that the state might be in a position to reinstate the previous gaming compact or the Governor could agree to a new gaming compact that only allows online sports betting on tribal lands.
Image credit: Valerie / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Olivia has worked as an editor and writer for major brands across multiple niches. She now focuses on the iGaming and sports betting industries.