A federal judge last week scrapped the $2.5 billion-dollar compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe, saying that it violated federal law by allowing online wagering off of tribal lands.
Judge Dabney Friedrich of the District of Columbia district court sided with Florida pari-mutuel wagering entities that argued the gaming agreement’s provision of online sports betting around the state violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which limits such wagering to tribal lands.
The pari-mutuels who sued U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, including West Flagler Associates in Miami, over the secretary’s approval of the compact filed a motion for summary judgment, which Friedrich granted on Nov. 22. The Seminole Tribe is now attempting to appeal the judgment.
The Governor’s Office expects the compact to ultimately get back on solid legal ground, according to a statement emailed to the Florida Record.
“We are reviewing the court’s perplexing ruling, which certainly contains appealable issues,” the office’s statement says. “Because neither the Seminole Tribe nor the state of Florida are parties to the case, it is unclear what if any immediate impact the ruling has in Florida. We look forward to working with the tribe to ensure the future success of the compact.”
Friedrich’s opinion, however, says the practical effect of the opinion is to reinstate the tribe’s prior gaming compact that took effect in 2010.
“This decision restores the legal status of class III gaming in Florida to where it was on Aug. 4, 2021 – one day before the secretary approved the new compact by inaction,” the opinion says. “Because the more recent compact is no longer in effect, continuing to offer online sports betting would violate federal law.”
But Friedrich said the state and the tribe do have options to authorize online sports betting in Florida. The parties could put forth a new compact allowing online gaming only on lands owned by the tribe, she said, or Florida residents could authorize such wagering activities anywhere in the state by passing a citizens’ initiative.
The compact was expected to net the state $2.5 billion in revenues over three decades.