Florida's Legal Sports Betting On Hold

Florida's legal sports betting industry is experiencing complications, and one sportsbook was shut down recently.

The legal sports betting scene in Florida is getting more complicated by the day. Some may say it's becoming messy.

Late last week, a Sunshine State appeals court denied a motion the Seminole Tribe set forth to stay a decision regarding the Tribe's renegotiated compact with the state. That decision stated that the compact allows bettors to place a mobile bet anywhere within the state's borders instead of just on tribal lands. Therefore, it violates state law.

The Seminole Tribe had been taking bets since November 1 at its Hard Rock Sportsbook. The tribe did that despite challenges to the wording of the compact and objections from pari-mutuel operators in Florida who claim it's in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

Then the sportsbook was essentially shut down on Saturday.

“As a result of yesterday’s Appeals Court decision denying a temporary stay of the District Court’s decision on the 2021 compact, Hard Rock Sportsbook will temporarily suspend operations of its mobile app in Florida,” Seminole spokesperson Gary Bitner said. “Account balances for all current players will be refunded as requested.”

A Bit of Background

Governor Ron DeSantis announced during the summer that he negotiated a compact with the Seminole Tribe that would drastically expand the tribe's gambling footprint in the state. That would lead to a robust sports betting platform that most seemed to support.

There was pushback from pari-mutuel operators and other entities in the state immediately after the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the revised compact. Some said the agreement contained some glaring holes, and it gave the Seminoles a virtual monopoly over the platform.

Those operators won a Nov. 22 ruling that challenged some of the compact's wording about how the Seminole Tribe was proposing to operate its mobile sports betting platform. The Tribe's appeal before Thanksgiving to keep its expansion plans growing was denied. Now any sports betting in the state is nearly dead.

At Issue in Florida

Traditional tribal compacts state that all gambling needs to take place on tribal lands. It was hoped that state residents could place a bet anywhere in Florida if servers were on tribal lands.

The Department of the Interior supports the Seminoles.

“The tribe and state refer to this arrangement as a ‘hub and spoke’ model, where the tribe's servers are the hub, and the spokes are the mobile devices and contracted qualified pari-mutuel permitholders' facilities where the wagers originate," the department said in a statement. However, a judge took exception to that wording.

It was ruled that servers being on tribal lands isn't enough to make bets across the state officially "on tribal lands." Additionally, two of the three Appeals Court judges supported the claim that the Seminoles offering mobile sports betting in that way violates the law.

Not Dead Yet

Legal sports betting in Florida likely isn't dead yet, though the process has been complicated. The timeline for a launch is unclear, and most involved would like to see a resolution soon.

The country's third-largest market is at stake. An estimated 120 million tourists per year prop up Florida’s population of 21.5 million. Roughly 2,200 jobs are on the line too, as is a negotiated $2.5 billion from the Seminoles to the state within the next five years. That number will probably swell beyond that period.

“Despite the decision, the Seminole Tribe looks forward to working with the State of Florida and the U.S. Department of Justice to aggressively defend the validity of the 2021 compact before the Appeals Court, which has yet to rule on the merits of the 2021 Compact,” Bitner said. “The Seminole Tribe of Florida, the State of Florida, and the United States have all taken the position that the 2021 compact is legal.”

It's wait-and-see time again for Florida's legal sports bettors who have experienced yet another step back after months of progress.