Florida companies petition U.S. Supreme Court to take up online sports betting case

Attorneys for two pari-mutuel firms are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to determine the legality of a compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Governor Ron DeSantis. The compact gives the tribe exclusive rights to run Florida’s sports wagering and casino industry and requires that those activities occur exclusively on tribal reservations. The pari-mutuel firms are gaming competitors of the tribe and are suing because they say the compact gives the tribe an illegal sports gambling monopoly. They also say the tribe’s online sports betting venture expands gambling outside tribal land in violation of the compact. Attorneys for DeSantis argue that the compact is an important source of revenue for the Seminole and that rivals can be paid a share of the revenue by allowing their customers to make bets from their own websites through the tribe’s servers, which are located on tribal land. The compact has already generated $120 million for the state of Florida this year.

What’s next?  It is unclear if the Supreme Court will accept the case. An appellate court has already ruled in the tribe’s favor. The firms arguing against the compact say it could set a precedent for online sports betting that takes place off tribal lands.

Dig deeper: Read Daniel Darling’s column in WORLD Opinions on the world of sports betting.