The Biden administration has called upon the U.S. Supreme Court to allow an appeals court decision to move forward in the legal dispute over sports betting in Florida.
The case involves the Seminole Tribe of Florida and a compact that would have granted the tribe exclusive rights to provide online sports betting in the state. On October 12th, Chief Justice John Roberts placed a temporary stay on the appeals-court ruling. This stay came about following a request for a stay made by the pari-mutuel companies that are challenging the tribe’s exclusive sports betting deal.
At the time, the Chief Justice requested that the Department of the Interior file a response to the stay request.
Department of Interior Response
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has since filed a 29-page response disputing arguments raised by the pari-mutuel companies. She stated that it is unlikely the Supreme Court will challenge the appeals court ruling.
In 2021, the pari-mutuel companies initiated a legal action following the approval of a gambling agreement by Florida legislators, which had been endorsed by Governor Ron DeSantis and Marcellus Osceola Jr., Chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The deal would allow the tribe to have exclusive rights to provide sports betting once the betting servers were located on tribal lands. While the compact was ratified by the Department of the Interior at the time, the lawsuit contends that the deal circumvents the state constitution which requires voter approval for casino gambling in Florida.
However, in her response, Prelogar, wrote that the appeals court “correctly determined that IGRA ‘regulates gaming activity on Indian lands, but nowhere else.’’ She also noted that the appeals court determined that IGRA does not bar a compact between a state and a tribe from addressing other issues. This includes activities off tribal lands.
“The gaming activities on Indian lands, of course, must be separately authorized under IGRA,” the solicitor general wrote. “But there is no apparent reason why a tribal-state compact that authorizes gaming activities on Indian lands under IGRA cannot also include provisions that concern the state’s (independent and non-IGRA) authorization to conduct directly related gaming activities in the state on non-Indian lands, even though IGRA and the tribal-state compact would not independently authorize those related activities.
If the Florida Supreme Court concludes that the Florida Legislature’s authorization of the placement of wagers outside Indian lands is not permissible under the Florida Constitution, that would afford applicants the relief they seek. That pending case provides the appropriate forum to resolve applicants’ claims based on the meaning of state law.”
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.