Never say never as the saying goes, but there have to be plenty of disappointed people and companies in Florida. Late Monday night, a federal judge dealt a major blow to the Seminole Compact, an agreement between the State and the Seminole Tribe, which allowed gamblers to place bets in Florida on games.
The Seminole Compact gave the tribe control over sports gambling in the state. In return, its leaders agreed to pay the state $2.6 billion for the monopoly. Through the use of a mobile app, bettors could make their wagers from anywhere in the state.
Dabney Friedrich, the judge in the case, ruled that the deal and the app violate the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. It requires that any state-sanctioned gambling must take place on tribal land.
Servers receiving the bets are on Seminole tribal land, which the tribe argues satisfies the requirements of the IGRA. Friedrich dismissed that argument.
As of Tuesday, the Seminole Tribe had not shut down its app and was still taking bets. The tribe and its attorneys have filed an appeal, but it obviously has not been heard or ruled on yet. That puts any bets placed on the app between Tuesday and when it comes down on some seriously shaky legal ground.
It is likely that the Seminoles will have plenty of advocates. Local media groups had already enacted plans to take in gambling money, and certainly Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed the Seminole Compact, supports it. Time will tell what an appeals court will decide and how the state will deal with the mobile app remaining in operation after Judge Friedrich’s initial ruling.
