The U.S. Department of Justice has appealed U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich’s November 21 ruling that invalidated the 2021 compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe.
Two Florida card rooms opposed the compact, which gave the Seminoles the exclusive right to offer sports betting. Friedrich found the U.S. Department of Interior improperly approved the gambling compact, and rejected the whole deal.
In its filing, the DOJ spelled out three lines of appeal: 1) contesting the judge’s decision to even hear the case; 2) contesting the decision; and 3) contesting if Friedrich went too far with her “remedy” of rejecting the compact.
Friedrich’s ruling striking down the 2021 shut down the tribe’s long-term plans for major casino expansions and for adding roulette and craps tables. Above all, the tribe closed its Hard Rock Sportsbook online sports betting operations. The compact allowed Florida bettors to place wagers through mobile devices anywhere within the state, as long as the bets were processed through computer servers on tribal property, which the compact claimed constituted betting on tribal land. Friedrich said this model of sports betting was “fiction,” and tossed out the entire agreement.
No other gaming operations were allowed to participate in sports betting; that was the basis of the lawsuit filed in August by West Flagler Associates, owners of Magic City Casino, and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., owners of the Bonita Springs Poker Room. The Hard Rock Sportsbook app launched on November 1 but closed three weeks later following the judge’s ruling.
Additionally, under the new compact, the tribe would have given the state $500 million in annual gaming revenue, but the 2010 compact is back in force, requiring the tribe to share with the state $350 million in annual gaming revenue.
