Seminole Tribe – Bookielink

June 17, 2024

US Supreme Court declines to hear Florida sports betting case

It's likely the end of the road for WFA's case as the Seminole tribe can continue operating its sportsbook product in Florida, closing the door for commercial operators.

On Monday (17 June) morning, the US Supreme Court denied the writ of certiorari (court process to seek judicial review of a decision) in the the Florida sports betting case filed by West Flagler and Associates (WFA). The decision means that digital sports betting can remain live in Florida. From here, WFA could again try to pursue its case through the Florida state court system.

In March, the Florida Supreme Court said it would not hear WFA’s quo warranto bid, calling it the wrong “vehicle” for the Florida sports betting case. The decision left the door open for WFA to re-file in a lower Florida court.

The case was first filed in federal court in the second half of 2021. At the federal level, WFA has now exhausted all routes.

“The Seminole tribe of Florida applauds today’s decision by the US Supreme Cour..

May 31, 2024

State of the Union: A look back at the week that was in North America

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

SCOTUS sets conference Florida wagering case date

The US Supreme Court will conference on 13 June to discuss West Flagler Associates (WFA) Ltd vs Deb Haaland. The case could change the course of legal sports betting in Florida. WFA earlier this year filed a writ of certiorari. The focus of the case is whether or not US Department of the Interior Secretary Haaland should have allowed the 2021 compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole tribe to become “deemed approved”.

The compact allows for the Seminoles to offer retail and digital wagering throughout Florida. Bets placed anywhere in Florida that run through a tribal server are considered to have been placed on tribal lands, according to the compact. This scenario is not used anywhere else in the US. WFA argues that the compact violates the Indian..

May 14, 2024

US DoJ to Supreme Court: Florida sports betting case isn’t in your purview

Late on Monday (13 May) the US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed its response in the Supreme Court in the Florida sports betting case. The filing is the final piece before the court determines whether or not it will hear the case that could change the future of sports betting in Florida.

West Flagler and Associates (WFA) filed a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court in April. In its response to WFA, the DoJ essentially argues that the Florida pari-mutuel’s case has no place before the court.

DoJ attorneys, on behalf of the Department of the Interior (DoI) wrote that the key issue, the validity of the Seminole-Florida 2021 compact, is not a federal issue. They also argued that the compact itself is well within bounds and that the DoI decision to allow it to be “deemed approved” does not violate any laws.

At issue is whether or not the DoI should have approved a compact that gives the Seminoles exclusivity to online sports betting. DoJ lawyers said the Florida sports betting ca..

April 1, 2024

Pari-mutuels to SCOTUS: Florida court decision in conflict with federal opinion

West Flagler and Associates (WFA), the pari-mutuel suing the US Department of the Interior over the validity of the 2021 Florida-Seminole tribe compact, filed a brief in US Supreme Court on 29 March arguing a state court opinion is in conflict with a lower federal court.

Should SCOTUS take the case – the court takes 100-150 of about 7,000 filed per year – it could change the state of wagering in Florida.

The Seminoles launched their Hard Rock Bet platform last November despite awaiting action on court cases in the Florida and US Supreme Courts. In Florida, WFA was suing Governor Ron DeSantis and the legislature saying they were out of bounds when they approved the compact. The Florida Supreme Court denied the petition on 21 March, saying that WFA chose the wrong “vehicle” to file.

Late last week, WFA filed a supplemental brief in its writ of certiorari that is pending at SCOTUS. In the filing, WFA lawyers wrote that the Florida Supreme Court denial leaned on the idea that the cas..

March 21, 2024

Florida Supreme Court won’t hear sports betting case

Florida's Supreme Court has denied a petition from a pair of pari-mutuels to hear their case against Governor Ron DeSantis and the state legislature that could have altered the future of sports betting in Florida.

Justice Meredith Sasso wrote that West Flagler and Associates (WFA) chose the wrong “vehicle” to seek relief.

“Quo warranto is not, and has never been, the proper vehicle to obtain a declaration as to the substantive constitutionality of an enacted law. For that reason, we deny the petition because the relief that petitioners seek is beyond what the writ of quo warranto provides.”

The latest Florida Supreme Court decision may not be the end for WFA in Florida. The pari-mutuels chose to bypass filing in district court and went straight to the Florida Supreme Court.

But Bob Jarvis, a constitutional law professor at NOVA Southeastern, told iGB that WFA could now “follow the correct route and sue in the Leon County Circuit Court in Tallahassee”. Jarvis does not believe t..

December 4, 2023

DeSantis team requests to dismiss petition against betting in Florida

Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ office has formally requested the state's Supreme Court to dismiss the lawsuit challenging sports betting in the state ahead of its scheduled expansion this week.

Attorney-general Ashley Moody claimed the petition brought by pari-mutuel betting operator West Flagler Associates is “unjustifiable”. The submission defended the state’s gambling compact between the Florida authorities and the Seminole tribe, which was signed in 2021.

Last month, the Seminole tribe, which has the exclusive right to offer gambling in Florida, re-launched its Hard Rock Bet service in the state.

Among the reasons Moody puts forward for the dismissal is the more than two years West Flagler took to submit its petition, following the signing of the gambling compact. Moody also argues that West Flagler’s petition for writ of quo warranto fails to meet legal standards.

Finally, Moody argues the petition is incorrect to claim sports betting is “casino gambling” as defined in th..

November 1, 2023

Seminole Tribe plans Florida sports betting relaunch in December

The Seminole Tribe of Florida has set out plans to launch sports betting, roulette and craps at all six of its casinos across the state in December.

This would signal the end of a turbulent journey for the Seminoles. The tribe agreed a new gaming compact with Florida in April 2021, with this signed off by state governor Ron DeSantis.

A series of legal challenges have prevented the Seminole Tribe from pushing forward with its expanded gambling plans earlier. However, the tribe says recent developments clear the way for it to launch.

Craps, roulette and sports betting will launch on 7 December at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood and Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa will follow a day later.

The final two properties – Seminole Casino Immokalee and Seminole Brighton Casino – will go live on 11 December. The tribe will host a series of events to mark the occasion, with further details being announc..

October 26, 2023

US Supreme Court denies West Flagler’s motion to stay

The US Supreme Court has denied West Flagler Associates' motion for a stay, giving hope to Florida's Seminole tribe for a sports betting relaunch in the Sunshine State.

Chief Justice John Roberts denied the motion to stay yesterday (25 October), which was described by the official Supreme Court blog as an “emergency application for stay”.

Brett Kavanaugh, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, said in a statement that he agreed with the court’s decision.

“I agree that the stay application should be denied in light of the DC Circuit’s pronouncement that the compact between Florida and the Seminole tribe authorises the tribe to conduct only on-reservation gaming operations and not off-reservation gaming operations,” he said.

“If the compact authorised the tribe to conduct off-reservation gaming operations, either directly or by deeming off-reservation gaming operations to somehow be on-reservation, then the compact would likely violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, as..

September 26, 2023

West Flagler files challenge against DeSantis and FL legislature

West Flagler has filed a state constitutional challenge against Florida governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida state legislature.

This follows the US Department of the Interior (DOI) filing a challenge to oppose West Flagler’s motion to stay, which was filed last week. This motion to stay was a further attempt to keep Hard Rock Bet shut down as West Flagler prepares to appeal to the Supreme Court.

West Flagler’s latest challenge claims that DeSantis “exceeded his authority” when he agreed to a compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 2021. DeSantis approved the compact in April 2021, and signed it into law the following month.

The compact gave the Seminoles exclusive access to offer online and in-person sports betting in Florida.

But in November that year, a judge for the District of Columbia ruled that the compact infringed upon the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). This reversed the initial agreement.

West Flagler also argues that the legislature exceeded its authority be..

September 18, 2023

West Flagler files motion to stay ahead of Supreme Court appeal

West Flagler Associates filed a motion in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to keep Hard Rock Bet shut down ahead of its appeal to the Supreme Court.

The filing by the two Florida pari-mutuel betting operators is the latest twist in the fraught legal battle questioning whether the Seminole Tribe are permitted to offer statewide online sports betting through their compact with the state.

West Flagler lost its case against secretary of the interior Debra Haaland in June, clearing the compact from federal objections. Following this loss, it appealed for a rehearing, which the court rejected.

In the motion West Flagler confirmed they would be seeking to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, confirming previous speculation.

If the court opts to deny the motion, then the Seminoles could launch online wagering through its Hard Rock Bet platform as early as tomorrow. Despite this, the tribe may prefer to wait and see how the case will proceed in the Supreme Court to remove legal a..

September 12, 2023

West Flagler mulls Supreme Court appeal after rehearing denied

After the DC Circuit Court of Appeals denied West Flagler's rehearing motion, the plaintiff will weigh up whether to appeal the matter to the Supreme Court.

In a one-sentence response to West Flagler’s petition the court denied the motion, in the latest twist for the two pari-mutuel betting operators seeking to challenge the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s compact with the State of Florida.

“Upon consideration of appellees’ petition for rehearing en banc, the response thereto, and the absence of a request by any member of the court for a vote, it is ORDERED that the petition be denied,” read the court’s statement.

West Flagler had been seeking an en banc rehearing, meaning the case would be heard by the entire bench of the court, as opposed to the panel of three that ruled in the original case, West Flagler Associates Ltd vs Haaland.

The outcome of the case saw the Seminoles permitted to offer mobile sports betting statewide by confirming the federal legality of the state’s “hu..

September 1, 2023

DOI blasts West Flagler over Florida sports betting rehearing request

The US Department of Interior (DOI) has hit back at West Flagler’s “strawman arguments” over its request for a rehearing in the Florida sports betting case.

In a 25-page response, the DOI criticised the en-banc hearing request by two Florida pari-mutuel betting operators, after the businesses lost their case in the DC Circuit Court challenging the Seminole Tribe’s compact with the State of Florida.

The compact, through its “hub and spoke” model, grants Seminole the exclusive right to offer online sports betting in the Sunshine State. The tribe plans to launch the offering through its Hard Rock Bet brand.

the original ruling cleared the compact’s “hub and spoke” model from federal objections

‘Rehearing is unwarranted’

The department pushed back against the “erroneous assertions” of the pari-mutuels. It argued the compact does not legalise the placing of bets. As evidence, it highlighted that the court’s decision does not prevent the plaintiffs from challenging the compact in the s..

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