- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, allowing them to offer legal digital sports betting in the state.
- The ruling reverses a previous decision that nullified the Gaming Compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe, claiming it violated federal law.
- The Compact utilized a “hub-and-spoke” system, allowing sports bets to be placed anywhere in the state as long as they were processed on servers located on Seminole land
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Seminole Tribe of Florida on Friday, granting them the right to offer legal digital sports betting in the state.
Friday’s ruling marks a reversal of the previous District Court decision, which nullified the Gaming Compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe. The prior decision argued that the compact contravened federal law and stated that the inclusion of a Seminole Tribe betting app, enabling bets to be placed from any location within the state, violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
The compact was formed under a ‘hub-and-spoke’ system that allowed sports bets to be placed from anywhere in the state as long as the bet is processed on servers housed on Seminole land.
“[The] IGRA does not prohibit a gaming compact—which is, at bottom, an agreement between a tribe and a state—from discussing other topics, including those governing activities “outside Indian lands,” wrote Judge Robert Wilkins.”In fact, IGRA expressly contemplates that a compact “may” do so where the activity is “directly related to” gaming.”
Following ratification of the Gaming Compact, the Florida Seminole Tribe launched its Hard Rock Sportsbook app, allowing bettors to wager on game lines, spreads, futures, player props, and more. However, the platform was forced to shutter after the compact was struck down.
Judge Dabney Friedrich’s initial ruling centered on the specific location of where bets would be placed. The compact allowed sports bets to be made from anywhere in the state as long as the bet was processed on servers housed on Seminole land, following a ‘hub-and-spoke’ system.
Friedrich noted that previous court rulings prioritized the human activity of placing a bet over administrative functions regarding the jurisdiction of the betting activity’s location.
Deb Haaland, representing the Seminole Tribe as the U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary, emphasized that according to the Compact, online bets were considered to occur only in the location where the Tribe’s computer servers on Seminole lands received the bets.
However, Judge Friedrich dismissed the hub-and-spoke system’s implementation, ruling that it violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which restricts tribal gaming to tribal lands. The original lawsuit against the compact was filed by West Flagler Associates on behalf of the Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room.
“Although the Compact “deems” all sports betting to occur at the location of the Tribe’s “sportsbooks” and supporting servers,” Friedrich ruled. “This Court cannot accept that fiction.”
Despite receiving approval from federal regulators, the Compact faced legal challenges and opposition. No Casinos, a group that successfully passed a constitutional amendment requiring voter approval for new gaming expansions, opposed the compact. Other casino operators in the state also argued against it, claiming it would harm their businesses and violate the constitutional amendment.
The 30-year gaming compact granted the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to online sports betting in Florida, as well as expanded gaming privileges, in exchange for a minimum of $2.5 billion over the initial five years.