In a bid to challenge an agreement that gives the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to sports betting in Florida, two of the state’s gambling companies, West Flagler Associates and the Bonia-Fort Myers Corporation, have appealed to the US Supreme Court. Their plea comes in response to a lower court decision that seeks to grant the tribe an effective monopoly on the burgeoning sports betting market.
The companies have catalogued their objections in a motion submitted on October 6, a preliminary action before the full petition for certiorari is filed by November 20. Their primary partnership is centered around the Bonita Springs Poker Room in South Florida, a locus of gaming that has been in conflict with the tribal compact for the past two years.
The eruption of this legal dispute traces back to 2021 when Governor Ron DeSantis inked a gaming accord with the Seminole Tribe. This pact effectively granted the tribe the exclusive rights to run sportsbooks throughout Florida, including on its Hard Rock Bet mobile platform, confirming that any wagers made online are considered to have taken place on Seminole lands where the servers of Hard Rock are located.
However, West Flagler contends that this arrangement opens the floodgates for “off-reservation” gaming, an activity that is prohibited by federal law. The impending spread of such illicit sports betting transactions across the state before the court can consider its merits raises grave concerns, according to the company’s Supreme Court petition.
This complicated legal saga takes place within the socio-economic landscape shaped by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Overseen by the Department of Interior, this Act regulates tribal gaming across the U.S. and ensures that such operations remain within tribal lands and abide by state compacts. However, West Flagler thinks this policy is flawed.
The legal entanglement is riddled with major contentions including alleged violations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and unequal treatment that the companies claim infringes on the equal protection clause stipulated in the Constitution.
Parallel to their federal court battle, West Flagler has also sought intervention from the Florida Supreme Court in hopes of invalidating DeSantis’ two-year-old compact. They hope to curb the unchecked proliferation of sports betting regulated singularly by the Seminole Tribe.
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