Sports Betting – Aerial View on New Hard Rock Casino – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by YES Market Media
Since the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a challenge to the tribe’s negotiated gambling arrangement with the state, online sports betting in Florida is here to stay for the time being, and it is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The Seminoles and the state will benefit annually from the tribe’s monopoly on internet sports betting, which will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have primarily used this money for environmental conservation initiatives.
Gary Bitner, a Seminole Tribe of Florida spokesman, sent an email to the Times/Herald on Monday saying, “The Tribe applauds today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to decline consideration of the case involving the Tribe’s Gaming Compact with the State of Florida.” “It means that everyone in Florida, including members of the Seminole Tribe, can look forward to a bright future made possible by the Compact.”
West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., two gambling corporations, had contested the state’s gambling deal with the tribe, claiming it was in violation of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and that gaming had to take place on tribal property. The contested 2021 agreement permits Floridians to place bets from anywhere in the state, even though the servers and other technological devices collecting the wagers would be located on tribal territories.
The businesses’ appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, filed on February 8, claims that “Thus, the Compact unambiguously authorizes the Tribe to offer online Sports Betting to persons located off Indian lands, and then ‘deems’ such gambling to be treated as if it occurred ‘exclusively’ on Indian lands.”
A U.S. district judge in Washington, D.C., heard arguments from the firms, and on November 22, 2021, the judge reached a decision in their favor. However, that ruling was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit this summer, preserving the deal. The appeal court’s decision is upheld by the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case.
However, the battle might not be over for Bonita-Fort Myers and West Flagler.
The firms requested advice from the Florida Supreme Court last year in addition to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was dismissed by Florida’s highest court in March due to a procedural error. The firms might be able to resubmit their appeal in a manner that brings them back before the court in the end.
Attorney Raquel A. Rodriguez of West Flagler sent an email on Monday saying, “Our client is not taking media requests as they do not wish to comment.”
Gambling for profit
The 2021 agreement permitted the Seminole to expand its gaming offerings to include live sports betting, craps, and roulette at its six Florida casinos in addition to online sports betting. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa are its two largest casinos. Two more casinos may be found in Broward County: the Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood and the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.
Floridians can use the Hard Rock Bet website and mobile application to wager on sports online.
The games covered by the deal didn’t start in earnest until December of last year, despite the fact that it was signed three years earlier. (Online sports betting had been accessible in late 2021 for a short while.) According to the terms of the agreement, the tribe started paying the state every month in January. The most recent payment was made on Monday. The tribe gave the state more than $357 million throughout the course of the six-month period from December through May.
Prioritizing the environment with a large portion of the deal funds was Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, a Republican from Naples. This year’s law, which DeSantis signed in early April, made that goal a reality.
The bill, SB 1638, designated $379 million for environmental projects out of the revenue-sharing agreement for the budget that was approved this year.
Among the projects are:
- $100 million for land acquisition in the Florida Wildlife Corridor
- $100 million for the management of uplands — non-wetlands — and the removal of invasive species
- $100 million for the Resilient Florida Grant Program to guard Florida communities against storm damage and flooding
- $79 million for the state’s Water Quality Improvement Grant Program
According to Senate spokeswoman Katie Betta, future years are anticipated to see even more funding than $79 million for the water quality initiative.
“Today’s decision ensures that Floridians can continue to gamble while those dollars get appropriated to Florida’s environment,” said Sen. Travis Hutson, a St. Augustine Republican, who sponsored both the original bill from 2021 that became the gaming agreement as well as the legislation this year to put much of its money toward environmental projects.
When DeSantis vetoed more than $200 million in water quality improvements in the state budget last week, he did so citing the agreement with the tribe.
Although he wanted municipalities to apply for the projects through a state grant program, DeSantis stated that he wasn’t against them. He stated that the Tribe would provide at least $500 million in funding for those projects.
“It may end up being more than that because the money’s coming in pretty good,” DeSantis said. “So all those needs will be met.”
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.