Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To DeSantis' Multibillion Agreement For Online Sports Betting In Florida
CNN -
The Supreme Court turned down an emergency situation bid Wednesday to block a multibillion-dollar agreement in between Florida and the Seminole Tribe to use online sports wagering throughout the state.
The court's order indicates that sports betting could quickly be available in Florida, although other pending legal obstacles in state courts might affect the exact 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 generate $2.5 billion in new income over the next 5 years and an estimated $6 billion through 2030.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh composed separately to state that he respected the court's action, but questioned whether the deal might raise separate questions under state law. He explained, however, that issues under state law were not "directly provided" in the existing application brought by other gambling companies.
The court's quick order could trigger other states and people to pursue similar deals.
Back in 2018, Florida citizens approved a referendum that amended the Florida Constitution to make sure that any kind of casino gambling would just be allowed in the state through a different referendum - to take power to approve such activity away from the state legislature.
But the 2018 referendum particularly took gaming and other 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 in a contract with the state under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that permitted the tribe to use online sports wagering throughout the state as long as the servers getting the wagers were located on tribal ground.
The following month, DeSantis signed a law that authorized the compact in between the 2 celebrations. The Department of Interior did not obstruct the offer, which had the same legal result as if it formally approved it.
Other wagering facilities, however, submitted match, arguing that the compact was prohibited under the IGRA since that law just permitted wagering on tribal lands. They submitted match against the Interior Department, arguing that the compact must not have actually been authorized in the first place.
A district court accepted obstruct the compact but was reversed 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.