Gov. Ron DeSantis and Seminole Tribe Chairman Marcellus Osceola signed a gambling compact on April 23, 2021. Credit: Governor’s press office
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The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to consider a challenge by rival gambling interests to the state of Florida’s deal with the Seminole Tribe allowing remote sports betting.
The court on Monday rejected the last pending appeal by West Flagler Associates Ltd. and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp. to the “Seminole Gaming Compact,” which is estimated to provide revenues of $2.5 billion over five years to the state.
“Justice Kavanaugh would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari. Justice Jackson took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition,” the court said.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected a similar challenge on May 21.
Under the compact, the tribe is allowed to take sports bets through a “hub and spoke” network connecting remote devices to servers on tribal land. As a sovereign nation, the Seminoles have more leeway to offer gambling than do other actors. Gov. Ron DeSantis personally brokered the deal in April 2021 and sold it to the Florida Legislature.
West Flagler and Bonita claimed the deal violates the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, or IGRA, which regulates tribal gambling, and Florida’s Amendment 3, approved by the voters in 2018, which requires a public referendum to expand casino gambling in the state.
“The Seminole Tribe of Florida applauds today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to decline consideration of the case involving the Tribe’s Gaming Compact with the State of Florida,” tribal representative Gary Bitner said by email.
“It means members of the Seminole Tribe and all Floridians can count on a bright future made possible by the compact,” he added.
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