For those patiently waiting on the passage of sports gambling in the Sunshine State, perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel per a recent report. According to an analysis from one gambling industry lobbyist, the Department of the Interior will prevail in bringing legal sports betting back to Florida when the controversial compact agreed to in 2020 with the Seminole Tribe is finally disgorged by the federal court system. Moreover, one source, a former Bureau of Indian Affairs attorney and longtime tribal law observer, also pointed out that the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Digital gaming app should never have been shuttered in the first place. Regardless, a handful of legal experts weighed in during a recent report highlighting the possibility of legalized gaming coming to Florida sooner rather than later.
For this article, SBS will be going over the latest news coming out of Florida and also some other notes and notes related to gaming in the Sunshine State.
According to one report, Bill Pascrell III, a lobbyist with PPAG-Princeton Public Affairs Group, said that Gov. DeSantis and the Seminoles will prevail when it comes to bringing legalized gaming to the state. Pascrell even said that they have a strong legal argument in the case, and while it might not happen easily, DeSantis and the Seminoles have a good plan for a state-wide gaming passage. In addition to one legal source, Derrill Jordan, an attorney at mct law who has also served as in-house counsel for three Native American tribes, believed that the U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich erred in voiding the compact.
According to one recent article, voiding the compact would have allowed the Seminoles through their Hard Rock Digital brand to offer state-wide mobile sports betting. The judge, in this case, deemed the so-called “Hub-and-spoke” mobile betting option that would have kept betting servers on tribal land while accepting bets off of them a “legal fiction” and beyond the scope of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act according to one article. Jordan counters that a law written six years before the commercialization of the Internet cannot adequately account for advances in gambling technology. This argument was also made in the DOI opinion of the compact, although the department allowed it to pass into law without rendering official approval.
As pointed out by one source, shutting down sports betting in Florida after a one-month run last November, Friedrich applied precedent. In this case meaning that a mobile sports bet occurs at the location of the mobile device, not the server that facilitates it. This is an incorrect interpretation, counters Jordan. He says that because at least part of the gaming is on tribal land, and the state and the tribe have agreed that this is permissible conduct, the tribe is not unilaterally without the state’s participation. Therefore, he says, it is legal.
According to a source, the Florida Legislature approved the compact before it began a 45-day period of consideration that DOI allowed to expire. A group of Florida pari-mutuels led by West Flagler Associates sued to shut down the pact and is supported by a group opposing any further expansion of gambling in the state. On another note, a former Florida legislator warned this summer that a Supreme Court ruling in a non-gambling-related case could have dire consequences for tribal sovereignty, and Jordan sees this case in federal court as another ominous prospect. Regardless, the consensus within the gambling industry has settled on 2025 as a timeline for sports betting to arrive in Florida.
After you are all caught up to speed regarding the current state of gaming in Florida, make sure to check out the variety of different resources available from SBS. For instance, if you need even more Sunshine State gambling updates, our Florida sports betting rundown is exactly what you need to stay on top of the action. With this article touching on a variety of different topics, like digital wagering, the SBS best betting apps guide is another fantastic page to check out so you can always stay on top of the action. Here you can find out why and how to bet using your mobile device. Finally, if you are perhaps unsure how to place your deposits, our payment methods breakdown is precisely the tool you need in your payment options toolbox.
About the Author
As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football in the Mountain West Conference, and basketball. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones.
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