Gov. Ron DeSantis defends Florida sports betting compact
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) asked the state Supreme Court to dismiss the Seminole Tribe’s challenge to the state’s sports betting monopoly.
Two pari-mutuel companies are asking the Florida Supreme Court to invalidate a 2021 gaming agreement between the tribe and the state that allowed the tribe to operate online sportsbooks. DeSantis' lawyers and lawmakers say the companies waited too long to file lawsuits and that their claims are baseless.
The case is part of a two-year legal battle led by West Flagler Associates that seeks to prevent the tribe from accepting wagers placed over the Internet from anywhere in the state. Earlier this year, West Flagler failed to convince a federal appeals court to invalidate the tribal gaming agreement, although an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is "still pending." Meanwhile, the tribe's Hard Rock Bets platform began accepting bets from select customers last month, a process a state court declined to expedite.
It wasn't until West Flagler lost his federal appeal that West Flagler took the case to the Florida Supreme Court and sought a writ of bond that would bind the governor and the Legislature. Behavior is placed in a valid context. The gambling agreement was revoked.
"Plaintiffs have not provided any basis for the court to overturn the work authorized by the three sovereigns at their third choice site," attorneys for the state wrote in a response filed Friday.
"The last way out"
Lawyers for the governor argued that the company's waiting so long to file the lawsuit undermined its right to court intervention.
The state argued in response that “original jurisdiction over status quo bond actions is reserved for truly exceptional circumstances requiring immediate review by the Florida Supreme Court and not as a last resort. “This process avoids the disadvantages that the uncertainty created by extensive litigation could bring to the other side—depriving the State and Tribes of the right to enter into mutually beneficial gaming agreements.”
The state also argued that West Flagler lacked authority to seek an existing bond order, which traditionally can only be requested by the attorney general.
Despite these procedural issues, the state also argued that West Flagler's lawsuit should fail on its merits. That's because the tribe's sports betting operations fall under state and federal law. Since the servers that accept bets through the Seminole Hard Rock betting platform are located on tribal lands, the bets themselves are essentially considered to have taken place there.
Friendly Terrain
The governor found relatively friendly territory at the Florida Supreme Court. Five of the current seven justices were appointed by DeSantis, who is seeking what POLITICO called a "radical overhaul" of the court.
While DeSantis' legal strategy has focused much of his attention on culture war issues like abortion or education rather than the future of sports betting, the governor has a strong record so far. The Washington Post reported earlier this year that the court’s “center-right majority has repeatedly supported DeSantis’ political agenda.”
In their response to West Flagler's case, state attorneys cited precedent set by the court earlier this year in the case of prosecutor Andrew Warren, whom DeSantis suspended last year. The court dismissed Warren's lawsuit in June, finding that Warren waited too long to seek relief and did not file until six months after the suspension.
"Plaintiffs fought tooth and nail to successfully defend their dubious district court victory on appeal, but the fact that they lost their federal lawsuit much more slowly than Andrew Warren lost his... cannot be a reason for them to outdo pretext for two lawsuits. "DeSantis' attorneys face a year-long delay in asserting state law claims in this court," DeSantis' attorneys wrote. "They are well aware that if their appeals fail, this will This situation will continue to exist.
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Source: www.casino.org
