The opening briefs in the appeal of the decision that ended the brief emergence of regulated sports betting in Florida have been filed.
The Department of the Interior and the Seminole Tribe of Florida filed briefs laying out their arguments for the appeal. The District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in November 2021 that West Flagler Associates was correct in its assertion that the newly minted compact between the Seminole Tribe and Governor Ron DeSantis violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
What was in original Florida sports betting ruling
While the effect of the ruling was to end regulated sports betting in Florida, the ruling also noted that Judge Dabney Friedrich believed:
- that the West Flagler Associates plaintiffs had standing to bring their claim
- that the Seminole Tribe was not an indispensable party to the litigation; and
- that the provisions deemed incompatible with IGRA were not severable from the rest of the compact.
In other words, the compact could not go on by, for instance, only allowing brick-and-mortar sports betting. The Department of the Interior and Seminole Tribe of Florida are now arguing that the District Court ruling erred and the judgment should be reversed.