In Florida, the Havenick family, owners of the parimutuels Magic City Casino in Miami-Dade County and Bonita Springs Poker Room, recently filed a federal lawsuit similar to the lawsuit they filed last month in Tallahassee.
The suit contends the sports betting provision in the gaming compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe, recently approved by the Department of the Interior, violates federal laws and will be “significant and potentially devastating” to their businesses.
Under the agreement signed by Governor Ron DeSantis and Seminole Tribe Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr., sports betting would be legalized in Florida with the tribe serving as the host for sports wagering. Parimutuels would get a cut of online bets placed through the parimutuels’ mobile apps.
This “hub-and-spoke” system allows bettors anywhere in Florida to place online bets that would be processed through computer servers on tribal property. According to the compact, bets placed anywhere in Florida “using a mobile app or other electronic device, shall be deemed to be exclusively conducted by the tribe.”
The 43-page lawsuit, which names Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and her agency among the defendants, stated, “Through this fiction, the compact and implementing law seek to expand sports betting outside of Indian lands to individuals located anywhere in Florida so long as they have a computer and internet connection, subject only to the tribe’s monopoly.”
Earlier this month, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, headed by Haaland, took no action on the compact during a 45-day review period. Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), that means the compact is “considered to have been approved” but only “to the extent that the compact is consistent with the provisions” of the law.
IGRA did not anticipate sports betting or fantasy sports, but “evolving technology should not be an impediment to tribes participating in the gaming industry,” said Bryan Newland, a deputy assistant secretary for Indian affairs at the federal department. He added, the “pursuit of mobile gaming is in line with the public policy considerations of IGRA to promote tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments.”
But the parimutuels’ latest lawsuit maintains that the Interior Department does not have the authority to approve the Florida compact. Furthermore, it claims the sports betting provision will hurt parimutuel operators because gamblers will not have to go to the venues to place sports wagers. “By enabling the tribe to offer sports betting via computer or phone from a person’s home or any other location in Florida, the tribe will have a significant competitive advantage and cost plaintiffs significant amounts of revenue,” the lawsuit states.
Seminole spokesman Gary Bitner essentially said the compact is a done deal. “It has been agreed to by the governor and the Seminole Tribe, approved overwhelmingly by the Florida legislature and deemed approved by the Department of the Interior. It has the support of two-thirds of Floridians. The state, the tribe and Seminole Gaming are moving forward,” Bitner said.
Under the 30-year deal, the Seminoles can offer roulette and craps at their Florida casinos, The tribe will pay the state $2.5 billion over the first five years. If the sports betting provision doesn’t take effect, the state will lose $50 million a year, guaranteeing the state an annual payment of at least $450 million.
Observers said if the Interior Department wins this legal challenge, other states will be encouraged to approve online sports betting. They said the Department would not “read restrictions into the IGRA that do not exist” and would not get involved if a proposed framework for tribal gaming expansion through sports wagering was clearly authorized under a gaming compact and state law.
