US Supreme Court rules in favor of Florida sports betting

US Supreme court rules in favor of Florida sports betting.

Sports bettors in Florida, should look at the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this week as a multiple leg $2.5 billion parlay, that hasn’t hit yet.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida won its legal battle to launch online sports betting; however, that doesn’t mean bettors in Florida can immediately start placing mobile wagers.

“The denial of the stay by the U.S. Supreme Court is very good news,” said Gary Bitner, a spokesman for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, to multiple news outlets following the decision to allow online sports betting. “The Seminole Tribe of Florida is heartened by this decision.”

There’s still the matter of more legal proceedings at the state level centering on whether the U.S. Department of the Interior rightfully approved the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act compact signed by Governor Ron DeSantis between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe in 2021, which granted the tribe a monopoly on retail and sports betting anywhere in The Sunshine State, not just on tribal lands, provided the servers are located on tribal lands.

Now the two pari-mutuel companies – West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation – that lost in U.S. Supreme Court, must hope that they have better luck in their Florida Supreme Court case, as they argue that a 2018 constitutional amendment required voter approval of casino gambling. The two companies filed this federal lawsuit in 2021 and it’s still pending.

The decision by the U.S. Supreme court earlier this week is actually not the first time that West Flagler lost this fight. Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied West Flagler’s request for en banc rehearing of its case against The U.S. Department of the Interior. This in non-legalese terms means the South Florida gaming operator wanted all judges of a particular court to hear its case to prevent the Seminole Tribe of Florida from relaunching online sports betting site, Hard Rock Bet, in Florida.

If and when this legal mess is all sorted out it’s expected that within the first five years, sports betting could bring in $2.5 billion.