The state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida will make hundreds of millions of dollars from online sports betting this decade, thanks to a pact between the tribe and Gov. Ron DeSantis that gave the tribe exclusive rights to also operate sports betting as a casino gambling on its reserves.
But are these online bets on the outcome of sporting events legal on tribal lands, when in reality only computer servers are located there, accepting bets made using cell phones and computers from anywhere in Florida?
That’s a question two of the tribe’s contestants hope the U.S. Supreme Court will address soon and answer with a definitive “no.”
A decision from the nation’s highest court would be of “enormous importance” for the future of online gaming in the United States, since leaving an appellate ruling in favor of the tribe in place would set a precedent for other attempts to circumvent state bans against gambling. tribal lands, said the companies, West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation, which operate horse tracks and poker rooms in Florida.
The companies sued Deb Haaland, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees tribal gambling.
Each year the U.S. Supreme Court accepts a small percentage of such petitions.
The two pari-mutuel companies say the pact signed by the governor and the tribe in 2021 gives the tribe a monopoly on sports gambling and creates a “backdoor” to opt out of the state’s requirements, approved by voters in 2018 as an amendment to the Florida Constitution, that a citizens’ initiative is needed to expand casino gambling outside of tribal lands.
“Through this artifice, the Compact attempts to transparently circumvent the Florida Constitution,” lawyers for the companies said. “The whole point of the Compact is to provide a hook to circumvent Florida’s constitutional requirement of a popular referendum to approve off-reservation sports betting.”
A lot of money is at stake. The tribe launched its online sports betting operation late last year, and Florida’s share of 2024 revenues is already more than $120 million. State economic experts predict that revenue sharing from tribal gaming could amount to $4.4 billion by the end of this decade.
The pari-mutuel companies also sued DeSantis and the leaders of the Florida Legislature, who authorized the pact, in a lawsuit pending before the Florida Supreme Court. The tribe argued that the Legislature has the authority to decide where to start online gambling and the amendment doesn’t change that.
“The 2021 Compact is a historic agreement between the Tribe and the State that resolved years of disputes,” the Seminole Tribe said in a court filing.
The tribe now has about 5,000 members, descendants of Native Americans who survived in the Florida Everglades, resisting federal efforts to remove them in the 19th century. The sovereign tribe operates seven casinos throughout Florida and owns the Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos business, with locations in 76 countries.
DeSantis’ lawyers and legislative leaders argue that sports betting is different from casino gambling and therefore is not prohibited by the amendment. They also note that rivals can get in on the action – and receive a revenue share – by allowing their customers to place online bets from their properties to the tribe’s servers.
“As an important source of revenue for both the Seminole Tribe and the state – and even for the tribe’s competitors – the 2021 compact serves the public interest and was upheld in federal court,” lawyers for DeSantis and the legislative leaders to state judges.
The pari-mutuel companies’ latest petition to the U.S. Supreme Court was filed Feb. 8, after an appeals panel overturned a federal district court decision in their favor. If the justices don’t intervene, Florida’s example could inspire other states to allow tribes to expand online gaming, Daniel Wallach, a South Florida lawyer and sports betting law expert, said in a high court brief.
Miami resident Jason Molina recently started sports betting after learning about it from a friend. He says he loves it and has bet on everything from Russian slapstick to Korean ping pong matches.
“It’s something new in my world,” Molina said. “It’s just a way to get more into the game and be more excited about it.”