West Flagler Files Reaction in Florida Gambling Lawsuit Presented to the Supreme Court
West Flagler Associates filed a response in their lawsuit against the US federal government, challenging the approval of Florida's online sports betting partnership with the Seminole Tribe.
The lawyers representing West Flagler, which owns the Bonita Springs Poker Room and used to run the Magic City Casino in Miami, are pushing for the US Supreme Court to review their claims that the 2021 Class III gaming agreement between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and the Seminole Tribe breaks federal law.
The plaintiffs argue that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) only allows tribal gaming within state compacts if it takes place on tribal land. They believe the 2021 agreement, which enables the tribe to manage online sports betting, infringes on this federal law.
In response to the Department of the Interior's dismissal petition filed earlier this month, West Flagler argues that the federal government's reasoning for dismissing the case aligns with why it should be heard.
Request for Appellate Review
The West Flagler brief states that the Interior Department should not have greenlit the Florida compact due to the potential for individuals to participate in tribal gaming away from tribal land.
According to the brief, the government's reasoning for turning down the case is essentially acknowledging that if the compact allowed gambling outside Native American land, the approval would have contradicted IGRA and position. If this happened, the Court of Appeals' ruling would have gone against this Court and other circuits, necessitating evaluation and correction by the Court.
"The IGRA issue comes down to whether the court rightly believed they could 'interpret' the Compact as not sanctioning sports gaming off Native American lands. If it did, there's no need for review. If it didn't, the Government concedes that review and reversal are in order," the West Flagler brief elaborates.
State advocates, along with federal counsel, contend that since the Seminole Tribe's online sportsbook server is stationed on tribal land, the facilitation of remote sports wagers doesn't breach the IGRA. They claim the betting still takes place on tribal property because the wager doesn't become valid until it reaches the server.
"This is preposterous," the West Flagler brief answers. "The essence is that the Court of Appeals upheld the IGRA validation of a Compact using an artifice, pretending it takes place on Native American lands."
Likely Outcomes
The possible outcomes for the West Flagler petition are:
- The Supreme Court approves and progresses with the case, which would likely start around the end of this year or early 2025.
- The court declines the case.
- The Supreme Court issues a straightforward reversal of the lower court's decision that the compact was lawful.
The Supreme Court accepts fewer than 5% of the cases it receives yearly.
Hard Rock Bet reopened in Florida in December. Retail sportsbooks exist at all of the tribe's six brick-and-mortar casinos, and online gaming remains allowed till the SCOTUS decision comes out.
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Source: www.casino.org