Federal Court Sides With Seminoles Over Mobile Sports Betting

The United States Court of Appeals has offered their support to the Seminole Tribe in their challenge of a prior court decision. This ruling had determined that the gaming agreement between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida overstepped the limits of the national Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

Following this agreement, sports bettors in Florida could download the Hard Rock Sportsbook App and bet online. This decision was later overturned by a federal judge, leaving online sports betting in the state on hold. However, the federal appeals court this week overturned that decision, meaning sports bettors can now download the Hard Rock Sportsbook App and legally bet online in Florida. The tribal-state compact includes the Seminole Tribe’s exclusive rights to Las Vegas-style casino gambling – with house-banked table games – across six brick-and-mortar casinos in the Sunshine State such as Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa.

In April 2021, the Seminole Tribe and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a new, 30-year compact in order to provide the tribe with exclusive rights to operate online sports betting in the Sunshine State. As a result, sports bettors in Florida could download the Hard Rock Sportsbook App and place bets online. However, a federal judge later found this agreement to be in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, forcing online sports betting to be put on hold in Florida. Fortunately, this decision has been overturned by a federal appeals court, which means sports bettors can now legally download the Hard Rock Sportsbook App and bet online. In addition, the tribal-state compact also includes the Seminole Tribe’s exclusive rights to Las Vegas-style casino gambling – with house-banked table games – across six brick-and-mortar casinos, such as Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa.

In exchange for a minimum payment of $2.5 billion for the first five years, the Seminoles were allowed to add roulette and craps to their casinos under the agreement. The Florida Legislature made the decision to accept the revenue-sharing and gaming expansion agreement. This provision granted the Seminoles the privilege of taking sports bets over the internet, which then caused West Flagler Associates to sue. West Flagler Associates, which owned Magic City Casino in Miami and the Bonita Springs Poker Room, brought the case to court by pointing out the Florida government’s violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). The Department of the Interior, specifically the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was the defendant since they had approved of the deal. The company has since sold Magic City, but still holds the card club.

In November 2021, Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich of the District Court in Washington, D.C. ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, invalidating a compact and putting Seminoles’ sports betting operations in a state of uncertainty. This decision came only a few weeks after the launch of the Hard Rock Sportsbook app. The ruling stated that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) allows for online betting.

Court Rules IGRA Allows Online Betting

Friedrich’s ruling on the matter between the Seminoles and the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was brought to appeal. At the root of the case was The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), a law enabling tribes to operate Class I and II gambling activities, such as bingo games, pull-tabs, and the like, and non-house-banked card games, within their sovereign lands. IGRA also permits states to participate in Class III gaming pacts with federally acknowledged tribes. An example of Class III gaming is slot machine gaming, house-banked table games such as blackjack, and sports betting. Friedrich adjudicated that IGRA allows states to conduct Class III compacts with gaming that physically transpires on tribal lands. To bypass the legal stipulation, the Seminoles and Florida agreed that the sportsbook servers would be based within Seminole territory, which contradicted the provision, as the sports bets occurred over the internet.

On Friday, a three-judge appeals court unanimously ruled that IGRA does not prevent the Seminoles from taking sports bets remotely. The court stated in its 24-page ruling that IGRA does not prevent a gaming compact, or an agreement between a tribe and a state, from addressing other matters, like activities “outside Indian lands”. The ruling further said that the Compact itself only authorizes betting that occurs on the Tribe’s land, thus following IGRA, while whether it is lawful for a patron to place bets from non-tribal land within Florida is a question for the State’s courts, but not for the court to decide.

Jason Mahon, a spokesperson for DeSantis, expressed that the state will collaborate with the Seminole tribe to confirm the accomplishment of the historic agreement. When the compact was agreed upon in 2021, the state predicted that the tribe’s gaming revenue would surpass $20 billion in the next thirty years. However, due to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), a court case may be imminent.

IGRA Challenge Likely

Should the West Flagler request a full “en banc” hearing by the appellate court, which is their final recourse if the circuit refuses, the Seminole Compact will still remain legal. According to tribal law experts, this ruling is likely to cause tribes who have Class III gaming compacts with sports betting to go to their state governors to attain online sports betting rights. Consequently, this might lead to an Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) challenge that could reach the US Supreme Court. Gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach also elaborated on this possible outcome, in which tribes might additionally go on to ask for iGaming rights through their Class III compacts.

Wallach told the Miami Herald that the implementation of this would highly change the national gaming landscape, as it will be the basis for online sports betting and internet gaming nationwide. He highlighted that this would give tribal gaming operators control of the most profitable distinct types of gaming on a state level, thereby disadvantaging other non-tribal gaming operators. Wallach concluded that this will likely lead to a US Supreme Court battle over the reach and range of IGRA.