Don’t count on a choice within the Florida sports activities betting case anytime quickly. Like, as on this yr.
On July 8, the US Circuit Courtroom of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit printed the briefing schedule for the West Flagler Associates v. Haaland case that led to US District Decide Dabney Friedrich placing down the amended gaming compact reached between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the DeSantis Administration.
That ruling led to Seminole Gaming suspending its Onerous Rock Sportsbook app in early December, a month after it launched because the unique operator in Florida.
Friedrich dominated that the US Division of the Inside, led by Inside Secretary Deb Haaland ought to have rejected the compact as a result of the net sports activities betting facet of it violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
The Seminole Tribe wasn’t a defendant within the case, nevertheless it appealed the ruling. As has the Inside Division. The Seminoles additionally sought a keep towards Friedrich’s order, which might have allowed the tribe to proceed working the app. Nonetheless, each Friedrich and the DC Circuit denied the request.
First Briefs Due Subsequent Month
In line with the schedule, each the Seminole Tribe and the federal authorities should submit their opening briefs by Aug. 17. The feds even have till Oct. 3 to submit an answering temporary.
West Flagler and the opposite plaintiffs within the case should submit their response by Oct. 6. Amicus briefs, that are filed supplied the courtroom approves by third-party entities not affiliated with the case however have an curiosity within the case. These briefs sometimes permit organizations or people to debate potential authorized ramifications of a ruling – reminiscent of what the nationwide affect can be if the courts allowed tribes to supply on-line gaming statewide by means of a gaming compact.
The federal authorities and the Seminole Tribe would then have till Nov. 14 to rebut the West Flagler temporary.
In line with the order, a date for oral arguments earlier than a three-judge panel will probably be introduced later.
Daniel Wallach, a famous gaming lawyer, stated on Twitter this previous week that the appeals courtroom’s schedule means it will not rule till subsequent yr.
No matter how the appeals courtroom decides, odds are the dropping aspect within the case will both search the total DC Circuit or the US Supreme Courtroom to take up the case. That may push any last resolution within the case effectively into 2023 and even past that.
Who Challenged the Seminole Gaming Compact
West Flagler Associates operates the Magic Metropolis On line casino in Miami. Each it and the Bonita Springs Poker Room filed the lawsuit difficult the approval of the compact in federal courtroom final August.
The 2 gaming entities claimed that the amended compact not solely ran counter to IGRA however that it additionally threatened their companies. They cited the “hub-and-spoke” settlement included within the compact that allowed the Seminole Tribe to associate with pari-mutuel gaming operators, like Magic Metropolis and Bonita Springs. By way of the partnership, the pari-mutuel operators can be allowed to put in sports activities betting kiosks linked to the Onerous Rock Sportsbook and obtain a share of the kiosks’ income.
Magic Metropolis and Bonita Springs argued that that association would harm their operations if they didn’t function “spokes” to Onerous Rock. By not with the ability to provide sports activities betting on their very own in any other case, they might stand to lose prospects to pari-mutuel operators that had been a part of the Seminoles community.