The Seminole Tribe of Florida has filed documents with the U.S. District Court of Washington to intervene in a lawsuit filed by Magic City Casino against Secretary Deb Haaland of the United States Department of the Interior in mid-August.
The original lawsuit challenges Secretary Haaland’s approval of a 2021 gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed by Magic City Casino under West Flagler Associates and the Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation, states that the compact that was approved in early August violates the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for the conduct of casino gambling on tribal lands.
It explains that the Florida Constitution defines its exception for casino gambling under tribal-state compacts by specific reference to federal law, according to the lawsuit.
"While we are fully supportive of Gov. DeSantis and his work to secure a new Seminole Compact, the lawsuit filed focuses on a very narrow aspect of the Compact – the legality of off-reservation and online sports wagering," Sandra Rodriguez, a spokesperson for Magic City Casino said in a statement to the Florida Record.
"The question whether 'deeming' a bet to be placed on the Tribe’s reservations because of the location of the servers is legally allowed even though the persons placing the wager are doing so from elsewhere in the state must be settled through the judicial system, as this contradicts the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), the Wire Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) as well as court decisions interpreting these laws," she said.
The complaint states that Florida is bound by the federal restrictions of this law and cannot "deem" that sports betting occurs on Indian lands when it does not, according to the lawsuit and referring to mobile sports betting that would occur off of the tribal lands.
"The lawsuit filed will address these issues and we look forward to a swift legal process that focuses squarely on this topic within the Seminole Compact," Rodriquez said.