The Seminole Tribe of Florida will move forward on expanded casino gambling in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision denying a bid by pari-mutuel companies to put a hold on the state’s multibillion-dollar gaming compact with the tribe.
The tribe said in a Nov. 1 news release that in December it will roll out craps, roulette and sports betting at its six casinos statewide
“The Seminole Tribe thanks the state of Florida, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice for defending our compact,” Marcellus Osceola Jr., chairman of the Seminole Tribe, said in a prepared statement. “By working together, the tribe, the state and the federal government achieved a historic legal victory.”
Although U.S. Supreme Court justices denied the application for a stay made by West Flagler Associates and other pari-mutuels, Justice Brett Kavanaugh brought up some potential federal legal issues related to the gaming compact, which was approved by state officials in 2021.
“To the extent that a separate Florida statute (as distinct from the compact) authorizes the Seminole Tribe – and only the Seminole Tribe – to conduct certain off-reservation gaming operations in Florida, the state law raises serious equal protection issues,” Kavanaugh said in the Supreme Court’s decision.
But he also noted that the application to the high court did not bring up the constitutionality of the Florida state law underlying the compact.
“The Florida Supreme Court is in any event currently considering state-law issues related to the Tribe’s potential off-reservation gaming operations,” Kavanaugh said.
Robert Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, criticized the justice’s statement. No Florida law is distinct from the compact, according to Jarvis.
“Kavanaugh’s dissent should be seen for what it is: an off-hand comment addressing a hypothetical set of facts that no party had provided briefing on,” he told the Florida Record.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) gives states the right to grant gaming monopolies to American Indian tribes, Jarvis said. When former President Donald Trump was running casinos in Atlantic City, Trump sought to block Indian casinos, but the lawsuit went nowhere, he said.
In addition, the cases that Kavanaugh cited in his statement recognize that the Constitution’s equal protection clause allows for racial discrimination when there are compelling reasons to side with a certain group, according to Jarvis.
“The U.S. government’s long mistreatment of Native Americans easily meets this standard and justifies giving tribes gaming monopolies as partial compensation for centuries of broken treaties, forced relocation, attempted extermination, etc.,” he said. “Lastly, Justice (Neil) Gorsuch is a staunch defender of Native Americans and would block any attempt by Kavanaugh to rewrite IGRA and the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent pro-Native American jurisprudence. Thus, Kavanaugh would have a tough time turning his rhetoric into reality.”
The expanded gaming that will be rolled out next month will create more than 1,000 jobs in Florida and boost tourism, officials said.
The rollout will begin Dec. 7 when the three South Florida Seminole casinos – Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood and Seminole Casino Coconut Creek – launch the new wagering options. This will be followed by a similar launch at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa on Dec. 8 and at the Naples-area Seminole Casino Immokalee and Seminole Brighton Casino near Lake Okeechobee on Dec. 11.