The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed its response to the Supreme Court on behalf of the Department of the Interior (DOI) arguing against a hearing requested by West Flagler Associates that the 2021 compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole tribe does not allow the tribe exclusivity over mobile gaming.
Let’s take a closer look at the conflict’s details and how it may impact online sportsbooks in the region.
The Final Chapter
West Flagler Associates (WFA) has argued that mobile sports betting in Florida should not be the exclusive province of the Seminole Indian Tribe and has brought the case to the highest court in the land. However, the Department of Justice has countered that argument in a federal filing insisting that the matter does not rise to the level of a Supreme Court hearing.
The U.S. Supreme Court hears only about 150-200 cases of the approximately 7000 petitions that the august body receives every year. Therefore, the chances are slim that WFA will be successful in its bid to get the opportunity to present its case. Yet, if WFA is successful, there are no guarantees that the SCOTUS will side in its favor after arguments from both sides are heard.
Legal Basis
According to the DOJ’s response, “The petition for a writ of certiorari should be denied.” It contends mobile sports betting in Florida should be boiled down to three key elements:
- Does the compact violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act?
- Does the company violate the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act?
- Does the Department of the Interior’s approval violate the equal-protection measures outlined in the Fifth Amendment?
The DOJ’s response asserts that the Department of Interior can only negate a compact “if it violates IGRA, federal law, or trust obligations to tribes.” This would mean that just because the DOI did not sign off on the compact does not invalidate it.
“In any event, the compact in this case is an agreement between two sovereigns – the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe – concerning the Tribe’s own conduct of commercial gaming operations within the State,” states the DOJ’s response.
“The government has previously explained in this Court why such an agreement between sovereigns does not implicate race-based equal protection concerns requiring strict scrutiny … but the salient point for present purposes is that (the) petitioners provide no sound basis for this Court to grant review on that equal-protection question in this case.”
The compact between Florida and the Seminoles is estimated to generate as much as $20 billion over three decades from the revenue derived from mobile sports betting. The agreement was negotiated by Florida Gover Ron DeSantis and it has been in legal limbo for nearly three years.
However, the Seminoles relaunched mobile sports betting in December 2023 and continue to this day. And unless WFA is successful in its legal Hail Mary, that will continue under the sole province of the Seminole Tribe.
