Florida Sports Betting Deal Faces Lawsuit

Florida’s recent deal with the Seminole Tribe allowing it control over sports betting for some 30 years is now been challenged with a federal lawsuit.

Miami’s Magic City Casino who also owns the Miami’s Magic City Casino has filed a lawsuit challenging the deal and says it violates federal law.

The main argument in the lawsuit surrounds the ability of the Seminole tribe to offer sports betting outside tribal land so long as the servers for the platform are located within the territory.

Under the deal struck in May this year with governor Santis the Seminole tribe can offer sports betting to the state along with being allowed three new casino licenses, in return the tribe agree to pay $500 million a year to the state for the next 30 years.

However the lawsuit says that under federal law only bets can be placed on tribal land and not using an app or online to place bets even thou the technical services are located on tribal land. This is the main plank of the lawsuit with it being stated in the lawsuit as follows: “’Deeming’ the bet to have been placed on Indian lands because the servers are located there contradicts decades of well-established precedent interpreting applicable federal law.”

Parimutuel operators in the state fear that with the new compact their ability to attract gamblers to racetracks will be removed or severely diminished as punters can place bets now anywhere in the state.

Isadore Havenick, the Vice President for public affairs for Southwest Parimutuels said: “While we are fully supportive of Gov. DeSantis and his work to secure a new Seminole Compact, the lawsuit focuses on a very narrow aspect of the Compact — the legality of off-reservation and online sports wagering.”

Lawsuit supporters hope that the court could rule on removing the sports betting section of the deal but allow the other components, that would be their ideal outcome, however some believe the court could deem the whole deal void and ask the state to come up with a whole new deal.

Whatever the outcome the lawsuit and court arguments will drag on for many months as certainly the Seminole tribe and the state will fight against the lawsuit.