DoJ responds to Supreme Court on Florida gambling case

Added: May 15, 2024

On Monday night, the reply made by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) to the Supreme Court over a controversy concerning gambling in Florida was made public.

It is important that this response be made before the Supreme Court decides on whether or not it wants to reconsider this particular case; it could significantly impact how bets are made here in Florida.

The scenario began following a plea from West Flagler and Associates (WFA) for the Supreme Court to reconsider a 2021 decision on a betting agreement between the Seminole tribe and the Florida state. On the issue of agreement, The Department of Justice on behalf of the Department of the Interior (DoI) indicated that it does not raise any federal concerns hence this matter will not be dealt with by the court. The Compact’s maintenance was approved by the Department of the Interior and it was within the law, they said.

The main issue in the case is whether the agreement, which grants the Seminole tribe exclusive rights to online sports betting, violates any federal statutes or basic constitutional rights. The compact does not break any laws in relation to online gaming under the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, Indian gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act or constitutional equality as stated by the Department of Justice.

WFA was favored already by the court because it believed the Interior Department had acted contrary to law when it ratified the compact. Nevertheless, a U.S. appeals court has rejected this while the Supreme Court has not determined if it will directly accept the case at any stage. Nonetheless, the Seminole tribe recently introduced a website through which they are taking bets on various games live.The regulation of sports betting in Florida and possibly other states could be heavily influenced by the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to hear the case.

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