The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily halted an appeals court ruling that would have permitted the Seminole Tribe of Florida to offer sports betting throughout the state.
Chief Justice John Roberts issued the stay after the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a gambling deal between the state and the tribe, which included provisions for sports betting.
The stay was granted in response to a request from pari-mutuel companies West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., who intend to challenge the appeals court ruling at the Supreme Court level. The order stated that a “mandate,” the final step in the appeals court decision, is now stayed, pending further orders from Chief Justice Roberts or the Supreme Court. However, the order did not provide specific reasons for the decision.
Legal dispute started in 2021
The legal dispute began in 2021 when the pari-mutuel companies filed a lawsuit after Florida lawmakers ratified a gambling deal between Governor Ron DeSantis and Seminole Tribe Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr., known as a compact. The lawsuit primarily revolves around a plan that would allow mobile sports betting throughout the state, with bets being processed on tribal property. The compact stipulates that such bets would be “exclusively conducted by the tribe.”
The pari-mutuels argue that this plan was designed to circumvent a 2018 state constitutional amendment, which required voter approval for casino gambling in Florida. The U.S. Department of the Interior, responsible for overseeing gambling on tribal lands, approved the compact, but the lawsuit contends that it violates the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) by authorizing gambling off tribal lands.
In November 2021, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled against the compact, declaring the sports betting plan invalid. However, a panel of the appeals court reversed Friedrich’s decision on June 30, and the full appeals court declined to reconsider the challenge in September.
The appeals court panel argued that a compact can legally authorize a tribe to conduct gaming only on its own lands but does not prohibit discussion of topics governing activities “outside Indian lands.”
Pari-mutuel companies’ attorneys file request for stay
Attorneys for the pari-mutuel companies filed a request for a stay at the Supreme Court on October 6, and they plan to submit a petition within 45 days, seeking Supreme Court consideration of the case’s underlying issues. They argue that IGRA does not authorize the interior secretary to approve a compact allowing gambling off tribal lands.
Additionally, they highlight the nationwide implications of the appeals court ruling, asserting that it could open the door to sports betting in Florida before the Supreme Court has a chance to rule on the case’s merits.
Chief Justice Roberts’ order grants the Department of the Interior and the Seminole Tribe until October 18 to respond to the stay request. Meanwhile, the Seminoles briefly introduced the Hard Rock SportsBook mobile app in 2021 but ceased operations on it following Friedrich’s ruling.
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West Flagler Associates holds three jai alai licenses, while Bonita-Fort Myers Corp. operates as Bonita Springs Poker Room in Southwest Florida. In a separate case, the pari-mutuel companies filed a lawsuit at the Florida Supreme Court last month, alleging that the compact violates the 2018 constitutional amendment; this case remains pending.
