It plays like a soap opera, a business version of “Days of Our Lives” or “Succession.” The Seminole Tribe of Florida wants to control the state with a gaming monopoly. Tiny West Flagler and Associates want to stop the monopoly and give the little guys a chance at some sports betting nirvana.
Heck, maybe this seemingly never-ending drama is little more than a conspiracy to drag up more legal fees for attorneys for both sides.
Let’s see what the combatants are up to.
On September 15, attorneys for West Flagler and the Bonita Springs Poker Room petitioned the Appeals Court to prevent the Seminoles from launching sports betting as it prepared to ask the Supreme Court to take up the case. They must submit that request by December 10.
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) responded to a motion from Flagler on September 25. A motion to stay the start of sports betting online is not warranted, it said in its documents to the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. DOI lawyers add that West Flagler has “not met its burden” with regard to the Supreme Court considering the case. To wit, there are no compelling reasons for the high court to step in, as per Sports Handle.
Meaning? Let a June 30 decision stand so the Seminoles can spread their joy and their Hard Rock Bet platform to every nook and cranny from Jacksonville to Key West.
West Flagler doesn’t need to respond to this request until October 2, after which the court of appeals is not under any time frame to reach a decision on the motion. It remains unclear when the court will rule on the stay request.
DOI attorneys wrote that “a stay is not warranted, because any such petition could present no substantial question for the Supreme Court to review.”
West Flagler asked that the appellate court stay its mandate until the pari-mutuel files its motion with the Supreme Court, 90 days from the date of the appellate court decision.
The DOI further argues that West Flagler’s “dispute is instead with the Florida law that legalized the compact in question.” In May 2021, Florida lawmakers held a special session to approve a new compact with the Seminoles, and for good measure, additional table games at its casino properties. Governor Ron DeSantis and Seminole Tribe Chairman Marcellus Osceola, Jr. signed the compact two years ago, and state lawmakers ratified it.
The clause of the compact that is subject to legal scrutiny lets online wagers be made anywhere in Florida without respect to tribal ownership of land as long as the digital components carry the wager to a computer server on tribal property. Known as “hub-and-spoke,” it’s a concept not in play anywhere in the country and one challengers claim is based on inaccurate readings of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and in fact is a violation of said act.
DOI lawyers counter that the appellate court’s decision is “case specific,” applicable only to the Florida compact.
Keep in mind that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland elected not to sign the compact so as to stay out of the fray.
Another issue brought into play revolves around Amendment 3, enacted to stifle a rush to build casinos without the Seminole name attached. The amendment required a statewide vote for any new gambling. West Flagler argues that DeSantis and lawmakers sought to skirt the constitutional requirement. The state constitution would have to be changed to allow expanded tribal gaming beyond tribal lands.
A lawsuit filed September 26 at the Supreme Court accused DeSantis and the legislature of permitting sports betting off tribal lands without approval from voters. “This abuse of authority warrants this court’s review and correction,” Raquel Rodriguez, a Miami-based attorney with the Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC firm, wrote in the 76-page lawsuit known as a “petition for a writ of quo warranto,” as reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Now the reasoning gets befuddled. The court decision agrees with West Flagler that Haaland would violate the IGRA if she approved the compact. By not approving it—or signing the compact—the DOI was saying the compact regulates gaming in Florida thus it can’t be an IGRA violation. Make sense?
DOI lawyers pointed to Michigan vs. Bay Mills Indian Cmty., in which the Supreme Court ruled that compacts between states and tribes can “include agreements related to gaming outside Indian lands.”
So now what happens?
West Flagler responds, and the court could approve the motion to stay, an approval which would keep the Seminoles from launching sports betting. And as mentioned in prior stories, a new stay could be in order up to 90 days or until West Flagler files its writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court.
But if the appellate court denies the stay, the Seminoles could activate betting unless the Supreme Court or state court prevents that from happening.
While legal machinations leave sports betting dangling in Florida, a minor skirmish involving daily fantasy sports (DFS) companies has added to the soap opera atmosphere.
Last month, the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) aimed its radar at three operators with cease and desist orders. The agency alleges that Underdog Sports, PrizePicks and Betr engage in illegal sports betting actions.
“I am hereby demanding you immediately cease and desist offering or accepting bets or wagers from residents of this state on the results of any contests of skill such as sports betting,” FGCC Executive Director Louis Trombetta wrote to the three firms.
If the three fail to abide, the case may be sent to the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, according to Florida Regulatory Watch.
An attorney for the three targets hopes to work with the commission to ease the concerns of all parties.
Emails obtained by News Service of Florida seem to indicate that the letters apply to all paid fantasy sports contests, including season-long. Jeremy Levine, founder of Underdog Sports said their contests comply with the legal definition of fantasy sports, which means based on skill not chance. Levine went on social media and pointed a finger at their duel nemeses, DraftKings and FanDuel.
Offerings on these national DFS apps can often resemble sports betting parlays where game scores aren’t considered, but the combined performance of individual players is available for real-money play. Most states pushing back already have legal sports betting, like New York, Michigan and Ohio.
“We disagree on the merits and will be working with the commission and potentially the legislature so we can ensure Florida sports fans can continue to play,” John Lockwood, a Florida attorney representing Underdog and other DFS companies in the state, said in an email to Gaming Today.
The squabble with the commission has taken the steam out of efforts by micro-betting operator Betr to build a major operation in Florida. But business is panning out in other jurisdictions, with Betr acquiring customers from a failed platform named No House Advantage (NHA). NHA shut down earlier in the year which came as a surprise to account holders.
Betr agreed to transfer the balances of NHA customers over to its accounts.
“As Betr Picks has quickly established itself as a leading fantasy sports operator in record time, we are constantly evaluating ways to continue growing quickly while also doing right by the community,” said Betr co-founder and CEO Joey Levy in a statement on LinkedIn.
NHA, acquired by Korean private equity firm Corstone Capital in 2022, closed its doors without any warning.
The lack of notice caused users to temporarily lose access to funds in their NHA accounts. As a result, there was an over abundance of withdrawal requests.
The crux of the problem for NHA revolved around an attempt to defraud the company.
“NHA was made aware of what may have been a coordinated attempt to defraud the company via a payment chargeback scheme which has impacted our ability to process withdrawals,” the company told Covers.
The alleged attempt came before a $8,000 fine by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board for failing to notify the agency of a change in ownership structure.
Betr will acquire all the NHA customer account balances.
Co-founded by YouTuber-turned-professional athlete Jake Paul, Betr debuted its real-money fantasy sports offering Betr Picks in July, which is available in 24 jurisdictions across the United States. Those markets include California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina and others.
The company should experience strong growth with its portfolio of investors. In June, Betr completed a $35 million Series A2 funding round, which valued the enterprise at roughly $300 million. The fresh injection of capital came after the company raised $50 million in 2022.
