Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To DeSantis' Multibillion Agreement For Online Sports Betting In Florida

CNN -
The Supreme Court declined an emergency situation bid Wednesday to block a multibillion-dollar contract between Florida and the Seminole Tribe to use online sports betting throughout the state.


The court's order suggests that sports betting might quickly be offered in Florida, although other pending legal challenges in state courts might impact the specific timing.


T he arrangement, or "compact," was promoted by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, authorized by the US Department of the Interior and is slated to bring in $2.5 billion in new profits over the next five years and an estimated $6 billion through 2030.


Justice Brett Kavanaugh composed individually to say that he appreciated the court's action, but questioned whether the deal might raise separate concerns under state law. He made clear, nevertheless, that issues under state law were not "directly presented" in the existing application brought by other gambling companies.


The court's short order might set off other states and tribes to pursue comparable deals.


Back in 2018, Florida citizens approved a referendum that changed the Florida Constitution to guarantee that any form of casino gaming would only be enabled in the state through a different referendum - to take power to authorize such activity far from the state legislature.


But the 2018 referendum specifically took gambling and other gaming negotiated through a compact in between tribes and the state - so long as the compact was by the federal government.


In 2021, the Seminole Tribe of Florida participated in a contract with the state under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that permitted the tribe to use online sports wagering throughout the state as long as the servers getting the wagers were found on tribal ground.


The following month, DeSantis signed a law that approved the compact in between the 2 celebrations. The Department of Interior did not block the deal, which had the exact same legal impact as if it formally approved it.


Other betting establishments, nevertheless, submitted match, arguing that the compact was illegal under the IGRA because that law only permitted wagering on tribal lands. They filed suit versus the Interior Department, arguing that the compact ought to not have actually been approved in the very first place.


A district court concurred to block the compact but was reversed by a federal appeals court based in Washington, DC. The appeals court said that the secretary of Interior had not overstepped her authority in enabling the contract.