Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To DeSantis' Multibillion Agreement For Online Sports Betting In Florida
CNN -
The Supreme Court rejected an emergency bid Wednesday to obstruct a multibillion-dollar arrangement between Florida and the Seminole Tribe to use online sports betting throughout the state.
The court's order means that sports wagering might quickly be available in Florida, although other pending legal difficulties in state courts might impact the exact timing.
T he arrangement, or "compact," was championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, approved by the US Department of the Interior and is slated to generate $2.5 billion in new profits over the next 5 years and an approximated $6 billion through 2030.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote individually to state that he appreciated the court's action, however questioned whether the offer could raise separate questions under state law. He made clear, nevertheless, that concerns under state law were not "squarely provided" in the existing application brought by other gambling companies.
The court's brief order might set off other states and people to pursue comparable offers.
Back in 2018, voters approved a referendum that modified the Florida Constitution to guarantee that any form of casino gambling would only be enabled in the state through a separate referendum - to take power to authorize such activity far from the state legislature.
But the 2018 referendum particularly took gaming and other video gaming worked out through a compact in between people and the state - so long as the compact was approved by the federal government.
In 2021, the Seminole Tribe of Florida participated in an agreement with the state under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that permitted the tribe to provide online sports wagering throughout the state as long as the servers receiving the wagers were located on tribal ground.
The following month, DeSantis signed a law that approved the compact between the 2 parties. The Department of Interior did not obstruct the offer, which had the exact same legal impact as if it formally authorized it.
Other betting establishments, however, filed match, arguing that the compact was illegal under the IGRA since that law just enabled banking on tribal lands. They filed suit versus the Interior Department, arguing that the compact need to not have been authorized in the very first location.
A district court consented to block the compact but was reversed by a federal appeals court based in Washington, DC. The appeals court stated that the secretary of Interior hadn't overstepped her authority in allowing the arrangement.