Florida sports-betting nixed by courts
Ain’t no sunshine: Late yesterday a judge in the US District of Columbia nullified the compact between the Seminole and the state of Florida and put the future of sports-betting in the state into doubt. The 25-page judgment from Judge Dabney L. Friedrich puts a stop to Hard Rock’s mobile offering in the state and also calls into question other elements of the deal struck with Gov. Ron DeSantis related to land-based gaming.
“Although the Compact ‘deem[s]’ all sports betting to occur at the location of the Tribe’s ‘sports book[s]’ and supporting servers… this Court cannot accept that fiction,’’ Friedrich wrote. “When a federal statute authorizes an activity only at specific locations, parties may not evade that limitation by ‘deeming’ their activity to occur where it, as a factual matter, does not.”
Back where we started: The ball is now firmly in the court of the state and the Seminole with Friedrich ordering the state “to reinstate the Tribe’s prior gaming compact, which took effect in 2010″ and suggested that the governor and Tribe “may agree to a new compact, with the Secretary’s approval, that allows online gaming solely on Indian lands.
“Alternatively, Florida citizens may authorize across their State through a citizens’ initiative,” Friedrich wrote.
Do you believe in magic? The judgment is a victory for the Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room card rooms that challenged the terms of the compact as well as the No Casinos lobby group. Both the state and the tribe are likely to appeal the decision but timelines on that are highly uncertain. Recall, DraftKings and FanDuel have a ballot measure lined up for the midterm elections next November.
Further reading: Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, LegalSportsReport.com, USBets.com
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