The U.S. Supreme Court has given West Flagler Associates (WFA) a potential window for success in its lawsuit against the Seminole tribe over a monopoly in sports betting. The high court agreed to consider WFA’s writ of certiorari June 13.
If the court accepts the writ, SCOTUS will hear the case with a final decision that could extend until 2025.
WFA took umbrage with the 2021 approval of the gaming compact negotiated by the Seminole tribe and the administration and approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) secretary Deb Haaland.
The agreement anointed the Seminoles with a monopoly on sports betting. But West Flagler said the authorization of gaming outside the tribal lands violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. .
Lawyer Hamish P. Hume, who represents West Flagler, recently wrote a brief to SCOTUS on the matter.
“The government effectively concedes that if the compact authorized gaming off Indian lands, then its approval would have violated IGRA and the Court of Appeals’ decision would have conflicted with decisions of this court and other circuits, necessitating review and reversal by this court,” he wrote.
“The relevant language in the compact is not ambiguous. Instead, it expressly creates a device designed to authorize sports gaming off Indian lands,” Hume continued.
The DOI responded that no one authorized betting off tribal lands because the server remained on Seminole property.
