In Miami, developer Armando Codina and auto retailer Norman Braman, former owner of the NFL Philadelphia Eagles, have filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia to stop sports betting in Florida.
It’s the second federal lawsuit filed against U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland among others, alleging the federal government “improperly allowed the state of Florida to circumvent” the state constitution when it approved the 30-year gaming compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The plaintiffs allege the federal government authorized off-reservation sports betting in violation of federal law.
The lawsuit also states Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature violated federal Indian gaming law and the federal Wire Act “by authorizing gambling outside of Indian lands and by allowing the use of the internet or interstate payment transmissions where sports betting is illegal.”
And finally, the plaintiffs want the court to block the compact which, they said, violates the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. That’s because by allowing the tribe to enter into partnerships with parimutuels to handle their sportsbooks, the compact unlawfully “sought to ‘enrich non-tribal’ interests rather than ‘protect the sovereign rights and interests of Native American tribes and peoples.’”
Previously, parimutuels West Flagler Associates, owners of Miami’s Magic City Casino, and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., operators of Bonita Springs Poker Room, filed a 67-page lawsuit in U.S. Northern District Court of Florida, also alleging the compact violates federal law. They’re seeking an injunction to prevent sports gaming from becoming legal on October 15. The two parimutuels also filed a similar 43-page suit in D.C. District Court, which will hold a hearing on November 5. Meanwhile, the Seminole Tribe acknowledged its digital platform won’t be ready until November 15.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Seminole Tribe gaming compact and lawmakers approved it in May. The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the compact August 5. It gives the Seminoles exclusive control of blackjack, craps and online fantasy gaming.
The tribe also will control all sports wagering at its seven casinos and non-tribal parimutuels on its Hard Rock Digital platform. It uses a so-called hub and spoke system allowing gamblers anywhere in the state to place online bets via servers on tribal property. According to the compact, bets made “using a mobile app or other electronic device, shall be deemed to be exclusively conducted by the tribe.” In exchange, the Seminoles will pay Florida at least $500 million annually, or a minimum of $2.5 billion over the pact’s first five years.
Florida lawmakers and the Bureau of Indian Affairs determined a server on tribal land meets federal and state law requirements that gambling only can take place on tribal lands. The parimutuels said that is “legal fiction” and they want the compact to be rewritten without granting the Seminole Tribe a sports betting monopoly in Florida. In response, the state said West Flagler waited too long to file its lawsuit, and the motion therefore should be dismissed.
Codina and Braman attorney Eugene Stearns said, “We are making the same arguments, but we have a different agenda.’’ He said his clients are concerned about a provision in the compact in which the Seminole Tribe waives its right to object to any new casino license outside an 18-mile boundary of its Hard Rock Casino near Hollywood. Both the Fontainebleau hotel and resort in Miami Beach and Trump’s National Doral Miami golf resort have indicated they would like the law changed to allow them to transfer a gambling license from an existing parimutuel to their properties.
Codina said the compact “clearly telegraphs their intent for casinos in Miami Beach and Doral by getting the Seminoles to waive their right to object beyond the 18-mile boundary stated on the bill. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how this movie is ending. We don’t want to wait to see the white of their eyes, so this is our first step.” Miami Beach and Doral have passed city ordinances prohibiting casino gambling unless voters approve.
Seminole Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner responded, “The Seminole Tribe and Seminole Gaming continue to move forward with hiring and training hundreds of new team members for the authorized launch of sports betting, craps and roulette, games now legal in Florida. The new gaming compact was negotiated by the Seminole Tribe and the governor of Florida, as spelled out in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The Florida legislature voted overwhelmingly in favor of the new gaming compact, which was then approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It has the support of two-thirds of Floridians. It is law.”
Planning ahead for legal challenges, DeSantis and the Seminoles included in the compact severability clause; in case a court invalidates one provision of the agreement, the rest of the provisions would remain in force and the tribe would reduce its revenue sharing payments.
Another opponent of the compact is the organization No Casinos, which is threatening to sue the state for violating Amendment 3, a constitutional amendment passed by Florida voters in 2018 that gives voters exclusive approval of any gambling expansion. Codina and Braman both helped finance the amendment campaign.
No Casinos President John Sowinski said, “Only Florida voters, not politicians in Tallahassee or Washington, have the power to expand gambling in Florida. This issue will have its day in both state and federal courts, where we are confident this compact will be overturned.”
Meanwhile, DraftKings and FanDuel are financing a petition drive for a ballot initiative that would allow Florida voters to legalize mobile sports betting apart from the Seminole Tribe. The two sports betting behemoths pooled $20 million to form the Florida Education Champions political action committee that’s paying for advertising, direct mail and signature gatherers, who face the challenge of collecting nearly 900,000 signatures by the end of the year.
Christina Johnson, president of On 3, the PAC’s public relations firm, said, “We’re going to the source. We’re doing digital ads, Facebook, Twitter and in-phone apps. If you’re tailgating or walking to the stadium, we have a pop-up ad and then you can request a petition be brought to you. There’s a lot to do, so it just takes time to do it. It’s September, we’re into sports, and people are back into school and people are into it. We’re covering all of our bases, pun intended.”
Florida Education Champions officials said the PAC has collected and submitted more than 20,000 signatures and has 100,000 more being processed.
