The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to challenge an agreement that gave the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to handle online sports betting in Florida, dealing a blow to opponents of the agreement.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up a challenge to an agreement that gave the Seminole tribe exclusive rights to run online sports betting in Florida, dealing a blow to opponents of the deal.
The nation’s highest court denied a petition from opponents of the compact, which promises to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the tribe and state.
The decision was the latest setback for West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation, which operate racetracks and poker rooms in Florida. In March, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the companies had filed the wrong type of petition to challenge the 2021 compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration.
The companies say the compact gives the tribe a monopoly on sports betting in the country’s third-most populous state and that the U.S. Department of the Interior wrongly approved the compact even though it violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which requires gambling to occur. on tribal lands.
The plaintiffs questioned whether online sports betting that can be placed anywhere in Florida can be considered to be on tribal lands when only the computer servers hosting the betting services are located there.
They said DeSantis and the Legislature, which approved the compact, improperly exceeded their powers by authorizing sports betting on tribal lands.
In their state court challenge, they argued that the agreement creates a backdoor solution to a requirement voters approved in 2018 as a measure amendment to the Florida Constitution, that a citizen initiative is needed to expand casino gaming outside of tribal lands. The tribe argued that the Legislature has the authority to decide where online gambling begins and that the amendment does not change that.
DeSantis’ lawyers and legislative leaders have said that sports betting is different from casino gambling and therefore is not prohibited by the state constitutional amendment.
The tribe launched its online sports betting operation late last year, and Florida’s share of 2024 revenue is already more than $120 million. State economic analysts predict tribal gaming revenue sharing could total $4.4 billion by the end of this decade.
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