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The Supreme Court of Florida has turned down a plea to halt sports betting while legal proceedings are ongoing, so the state’s legal battles surrounding the practice will persist.
Providing no justification for its ruling, the Florida Supreme Court denied West Flagler Associates’ request on Friday. The Seminole Tribe was said to have exceeded its constitutional jurisdiction in the move, which called for the “immediate suspension of the off-reservation sports betting provisions” in the Implementing Law.
According to the court filing, the motion titled “Motion to Expedite Consideration of Request for All Writs Relief Pending Resolution of Petition for Writ of Quo Warranto and Suspend the Sports Betting Provisions Contained in §§ 285.710(13)(B)(7) & 849.142, Fla. Stat.” was denied.
The Seminole Tribe declared earlier this month that live sports betting will resume in its casinos in December. This action was taken after the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to overturn a $2.5 billion agreement that would have allowed sports betting in Florida between the tribe and the state.
According to the compact, mobile sports betting is allowed as long as the servers that handle the wagers are situated on tribal territory. Legal issues center on whether the Florida Constitution and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act are broken by the mobile app.
By increasing casino gambling without the consent of the general public, West Flagler Associates argued that the Seminole Tribe had overreached its constitutional jurisdiction. The purpose of the motion was to keep things as they were—”no sports betting statewide”—until the court made a decision in ongoing litigation.
The ratification of the agreement had already given rise to a lawsuit from two physical casinos: Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room. They claimed that the tribe would have a monopoly on internet sports gaming throughout the state, which would hurt their companies.