In the plodding move for a final decree on the issue of whether the Seminole Tribe can control sports betting in Florida, the call by West Flagler Associates for an en banc hearing of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia just beat the buzzer for the Department of the Interior (DOI).
The decision to respond to the request two weeks ago carried a timeline of August 31, and the tribe made it by 4 p.m. The 25-page response said there were no matters of exceptional importance that require an en banc hearing.
The DOI’s response contends that en banc hearings are only granted “in the rarest of circumstances” and the reasons purported by West Flagler do not warrant a rehearing.
“The panel correctly held that the Secretary had no duty to disapprove the Compact for the straightforward and fact-specific reason that the Compact can—and therefore must—be read in a way that is consistent with IGRA,” the response said. “That narrow and reasonable reading—which has been endorsed by both parties to the Compact and by the Secretary belies any suggestion that the Compact blesses the off-Indian land wagering that West Flagler believes violates the Florida constitution.”
The DOI also made clear that West Flagler may challenge the relevant state law in court, “but a rehearing is unwarranted.”
All said and done, the court of appeals still has the authority to grant the en banc hearing, which would be the first granted since 2021. Indeed, it may take months to make such a decision according to Sports Betting Dime.
However, it’s unlikely that a decision on this en banc hearing will take that long. Meantime, the tribe will hold off launching sports betting until such a decision, rather than tick off the courts.
For a hearing request, six of the 11 district judges have to approve the request. That means six of eight remainders have to agree on a rehearing.
If accepted, all 11 judges of the D.C. Circuit Court would hear the argument from West Flagler that the 2021 Florida Gaming Compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). West Flagler has contended throughout the process that the gaming compact violates IGRA and incorrectly allows the Seminole Tribe to host online gaming, such as sports betting, off tribal lands.
In West Flagler’s petition, counsel for the plaintiffs wrote that the Supreme Court’s ruling of Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community found that IGRA regulates gaming on “Indian lands, and nowhere else.”
The comment from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is as follows:
“And the panel did so while making scrupulously clear that neither its opinion nor the Secretary’s approval prevents West Flagler from challenging the relevant State law in Florida’s courts. Rehearing is unwarranted.”
It was an expected move. However, experts told LSR the pathway was considered a long shot.
