Federal Court overturns block on sports betting in Florida

The ruling reinstates the State of Florida’s compact with the Seminole Tribe.

US.- A federal appeals court has ordered the Department of Interior to reinstate Florida’s compact that gave the Seminole Tribe and its Hard Rock brand a monopoly on sports betting in Florida.

The decision by a three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia could pave the way for the tribe to relaunch its Hard Rock Sportsbook betting app in the state and pursue two new casinos in South Florida.

The panel concluded that federal gaming law allowed the state to enter into a 30-year agreement with the Seminole Tribe to operate sports betting in Florida. The tribe, which would also be allowed to add roulette and craps to its casino operations, would in return pay the state at least $2.5bn over the first five years of the agreement.

This decision reverses a federal district court ruling that found that the 2021 compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). On November 2021, US District Court Judge Friedrich ruled that sports betting can be offered via a smartphone or laptop only on tribal lands. She concluded that the compact signed between the tribe and governor Ron DeSantis should not have been approved by the US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.

The Seminole Tribe appealed the decision and continued to take wagers through the app, but in December, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit followed Friedrich’s decision and the tribe suspended its online sports betting app.