Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To DeSantis' Multibillion Agreement For Online Sports Betting In Florida

CNN -
The Supreme Court declined an emergency situation bid Wednesday to block a multibillion-dollar arrangement in between Florida and the Seminole Tribe to provide online sports wagering throughout the state.


The court's order indicates that sports betting could soon be readily available in Florida, although other pending legal challenges in state courts might impact the specific timing.


T he agreement, or "compact," was championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, authorized by the US Department of the Interior and is slated to bring in $2.5 billion in new profits over the next 5 years and an approximated $6 billion through 2030.


Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote individually to say that he respected the court's action, however questioned whether the deal might raise different questions under state law. He explained, nevertheless, that issues under state law were not "directly provided" in the existing application brought by other gambling companies.


The court's short order might trigger other states and tribes to pursue similar deals.


Back in 2018, Florida voters authorized a referendum that amended the Florida Constitution to ensure that any form of gambling establishment gaming would only be allowed the state through a different referendum - to take power to approve such activity away from the state legislature.


But the 2018 referendum particularly took gambling and other video gaming worked out through a compact between people and the state - so long as the compact was authorized by the federal government.


In 2021, the Seminole Tribe of Florida entered into an arrangement with the state under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that allowed the people to use online sports wagering throughout the state as long as the servers receiving the wagers were found on tribal ground.


The following month, DeSantis signed a law that authorized the compact in between the 2 parties. The Department of Interior did not obstruct the offer, which had the exact same legal effect as if it formally authorized it.


Other betting facilities, however, submitted fit, arguing that the compact was illegal under the IGRA since that law only permitted banking on tribal lands. They submitted suit versus the Interior Department, arguing that the compact must not have been authorized in the very first location.


A district court accepted obstruct the compact however was by a federal appeals court based in Washington, DC. The appeals court said that the secretary of Interior had not exceeded her authority in enabling the contract.