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

CNN -
The Supreme Court turned down an emergency bid Wednesday to block a multibillion-dollar agreement between Florida and the Seminole Tribe to provide online sports betting throughout the state.


The court's order means that sports wagering could soon be readily available in Florida, although other pending legal difficulties in state courts could affect the precise timing.


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


Justice Brett Kavanaugh composed individually to say that he respected the court's action, however questioned whether the deal might raise different concerns under state law. He made clear, however, that concerns under state law were not "squarely presented" in the present application brought by other betting companies.


The court's short order might activate other states and people to pursue comparable deals.


Back in 2018, Florida voters authorized a referendum that modified the Florida Constitution to make sure that any form of gambling establishment gaming would only be allowed the state through a separate referendum - to take power to authorize such activity far from the state legislature.


But the 2018 referendum specifically took gaming and other video gaming negotiated through a compact between tribes and the state - so long as the compact was approved by the federal government.


In 2021, the Seminole Tribe of Florida got in into a contract with the state under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that permitted the tribe to offer online sports betting throughout the state as long as the servers receiving the wagers were found on tribal ground.


The following month, DeSantis signed a law that approved the compact in between the two parties. The Department of Interior did not obstruct the deal, which had the very same legal impact as if it formally authorized it.


Other betting establishments, however, submitted suit, arguing that the compact was illegal under the IGRA because that law just permitted betting on tribal lands. They filed fit against the Interior Department, arguing that the compact should not have actually been approved in the first place.


A district court accepted block the compact however was reversed by a court based in Washington, DC. The appeals court stated that the secretary of Interior hadn't violated her authority in allowing the agreement.