Sports Betting Board – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Tino Bandito
After a three-judge panel upheld a contract granting the Seminole Tribe control of sports betting throughout the state, the owners of two Florida pari-mutuel facilities petitioned a full Washington, D.C. appeals court for a hearing.
In 2021, a federal judge sided with the operators of the Magic City Casino in Miami-Dade County and the Bonita Springs Poker Room in Southwest Florida and declared that the agreement broke federal gambling rules. However, in June, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overruled U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich’s ruling and approved the sports betting scheme.
On Monday, the pari-mutuels filed a motion asking for a “en banc” hearing, or rehearing before the whole appeals court.
After signing a 30-year agreement in 2021 that gave the Seminole Tribe of Florida Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr. power over sports betting throughout the state, Governor Ron DeSantis and the pari-mutuels launched the case. The Seminoles consented to pay the state at least $2.5 billion annually for the first five years and potentially billions more over a thirty-year period under the terms of the agreement.
The “hub-and-spoke” sports betting system was created to make it possible for gamblers to place bets online from anywhere in the state, with the bets being processed through computer servers located on tribal land. The compact stated that wagers “using a mobile app or other electronic device, shall be deemed to be exclusively conducted by the tribe.”
Deb Haaland, the secretary of the U.S. Interior, approved the compact’s implementation, but Friedrich decided in November 2021 that it violated the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which governs gaming on tribal territories, because it would permit gambling off Seminole property. Due to the fact that the agreement permitted gaming “both on and off” Indian reservations, the three-judge bench in June unanimously concluded that Friedrich erred.
The panel’s judgment “is erroneous and will create confusion,” according to the pari-mutuels’ attorneys, who made the request for a full court hearing on Monday. This argument was made in part because it contrasted with earlier court decisions.
“The net effect of the opinion is that a tribe and state may now contract to give the tribe a statewide monopoly on gaming off of Indian lands so long as some of the gaming also occurs on at least one square foot of Indian land,” the motion said.
Gary Bitner, a spokesman for the tribe, cited the court’s judgment from June in a statement sent on Monday to The News Service of Florida.
“It’s important to note the three-judge panel … issued a unanimous decision in favor of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which approved the gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe and the state of Florida,” Bitner said in an email.
The Hard Rock SportsBook mobile app was briefly launched by the Seminoles during the legal dispute, but it stopped taking bets and deposits in December 2021.
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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.