With significant implications for Florida sports betting, the legal battle between West Flagler Associates (WFA) and the Seminole Tribe continues as to jurisdiction over mobile sports betting in the Sunshine State.
WFA Get Litigious
West Flagler Associates’ latest legal maneuver could determine whether the Seminole Tribe will relaunch sports betting by the end of the month or wait until the final gavel has pounded months, even years, from now.
It’s akin to a heavyweight fight, with the parimutuel betting group, West Flagler Associates, winning the opening rounds but now getting staggered by a series of legal haymakers thrown by the Seminole Tribe and the state of Florida.
This issue revolves around the Seminoles’ compact with the state of Florida and how it is legally interpreted. The Seminoles’ Hard Rock betting app was live for 34 days until a federal district court judge ruled in November 2021 that the state’s Gaming Compact with the Seminole Tribe was invalid.
The lower court’s decision was based on the computer servers being located on tribal land which means the originating bets came from all over the state which was ruled in violation of the compact with the state.
However, the DC Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found in favor of the Seminoles, who would give as much as $20 billion over 30 years to the state to take mobile sports bets, and essentially have a monopoly on mobile gaming in the state.
But West Flagler Associates then asked that same court to stay the motion until the Supreme Court could decide whether or not to hear their case – which would prohibit the Seminoles from relaunching – but that too was denied on October 6th.
Legal Hail Mary
West Flagler’s then pivoted and its latest move was to file with the Supreme Court of the United States on the same day the DC Circuit Appeals Court ruled against them. WFA then filed an emergency docket application with the SCOTUS which expedites cases that are pressing.
West Flagler’s lawyers stated, “There is good cause for the stay as a matter of public policy. Unless the mandate is stayed, the Circuit Opinion will upset the status quo in Florida by permitting the Tribe to conduct online sports gaming throughout the state.”
“… Absent a stay, the Compact will give rise to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of sports betting transactions that violate both state and federal law before this Court has the opportunity to address the merits.”
All this means is that the SCOTUS will let West Flagler know within seven to 22 days if its case has merit. If not, there is very little explanation given, and the chances of a full hearing decrease substantially as the court has already had a brief glance at the request and decided against it. Assuming that happens, it is likely the Seminoles will go live again with digital sports betting by Halloween.
Fate Hangs on Supreme Court Decision
However, if it is granted then this protracted battle would continue and sports betting would stay dark in the Sunshine State until the SCOTUS decides what is considered legal.
West Flagler’s attorneys argued for granting the stay by saying, “The Circuit Opinion enables a dramatic change in public policy on legalizing gaming that, once started, may be difficult to stop. It is in the public interest to preserve the status quo with respect to online gaming until such time as this Court has a chance to review Applicants’ petition for a writ of certiorari.”
Sports and gaming attorney Daniel Wallach said, “If the Supreme Court denies the emergency application, I think that would be the trigger for the relaunch of online sports betting regardless of what’s pending in the state supreme court.”
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