The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday at least temporarily blocked an appeals court ruling that allowed the Seminole Tribe of Florida to offer sports betting statewide.
Chief Justice John Roberts issued the order imposing the stay after the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals this summer upheld a gaming agreement between states and tribes that included sports betting.
Roberts’ order comes as parimutuel companies West Flagler Associates and Bonita Fort Myers Corp. seek a stay as they prepare to challenge the Court of Appeals’ ruling to the Supreme Court. The order was issued in response to this. The order said that the final step in an appellate court’s decision, known as a “mandate,” is “hereby revoked and stayed pending further order of the undersigned (Roberts) or the (Supreme) Court.” Stated.
The order does not detail the reasons for Roberts’ decision.
The pari-mutuel company filed the lawsuit in 2021 after the Florida Legislature approved a gaming agreement signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Seminole Tribe Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr. This agreement is known as the Agreement.
The agreement addresses a series of issues, but the lawsuit focuses on a plan that would allow gamblers to place mobile sports bets anywhere in the state, with bets processed on computer servers on tribal property. The deal states that “bets made using mobile apps or other electronic devices shall be deemed to be made exclusively by the Tribe.”
Parimutuels argue that the plan was designed in part to circumvent a 2018 constitutional amendment that required voter approval for casino gambling in Florida.
The U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees gambling on tribal lands, allowed the agreement to move forward. But the lawsuit alleges that the agreement violates the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) because it allows gambling off tribal lands.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled against the agreement in November 2021, calling the sports betting plan “fiction” and invalidating other parts of the agreement. An appeals court panel on June 30 reversed Friedrich’s decision, and a full appeals court in September declined to reconsider the challenge.
The appellate court panel said the agreement “can legally authorize tribes to conduct gaming only on their own lands.” At the same time, however, IGRA does not prohibit gaming agreements (essentially agreements between tribes and nations) from discussing other topics, including governance activities “outside Indian lands.” ”
Lawyers for the pari-mutuel company filed an injunction with the Supreme Court on October 6. He also said he plans to file a petition within 45 days asking the justices to consider the fundamental issues in the case.
The cease-and-desist request said in part that the Indian Gaming Control Act does not authorize the Secretary of the Interior to approve agreements that allow gambling on tribal lands. Lawyers also pointed out that the appeals court’s ruling could have far-reaching implications.
“The Circuit Court’s opinion raises questions of national importance regarding the ability of states and tribes to use the IGRA Compact to provide gaming on Indian lands.” It is stated in
He also said the appeals court’s decision could open the door to sports betting in Florida before the Supreme Court rules on the underlying issues. The request states, “It is in the public interest to maintain the status quo.”
“Absent an injunction, this agreement would result in millions, if not millions, of sports betting transactions that violate both state and federal law before this (Supreme) Court has a chance to consider the merits. “This could result in hundreds of thousands of cases,” the request states. “The circuit court’s opinion enables a dramatic shift in public policy regarding the legalization game, which is difficult to stop once it starts.”
Roberts’ order gives the Interior Department and tribes until Oct. 18 to respond.
The Seminoles briefly launched the Hard Rock Sportsbook mobile app in 2021 amid a legal dispute, but stopped accepting wagers and deposits on the app after Friedrich’s ruling.
West Flagler has three jai alai licenses, and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp. does business in Southwest Florida as Bonita Springs Poker Room.
Meanwhile, pari-mutuel companies filed a separate lawsuit in the Florida Supreme Court last month alleging the agreement violates a 2018 constitutional amendment. The case is pending.