Less than 24 hours after a pair of Florida parimutuels argued against a 30-day extension for Gov. Ron DeSantis et al to respond to its filing that could determine the future of sports betting in the state, the Florida Supreme Court granted the extension.
DeSantis et al now must file a response by Dec. 1, 11 days after West Flagler and Associates (WFA) has promised to file a similar case with the U.S. Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Court did warn the DeSantis group not to request additional extensions, writing, “Multiple extensions of time for the same filing are discouraged. Absent extenuating circumstances, subsequent requests may be denied.”
Friday’s decision is the latest in the state court case in which WFA is seeking a ruling that says that DeSantis and the legislature went beyond their power in negotiating and agreeing to a compact that would give the Seminole Tribe a monopoly on legal retail and digital sports betting. The case also seeks to have the compact declared invalid. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act governs gambling on tribal land, and the compact attempts to extend that provision by having bets placed anywhere in the state deemed to be on Indian land if they flow through a server located on tribal land.
The order came one day after WFA filed a response in Florida Supreme Court saying that DeSantis et al should not be entitled to a 30-day extension. Hours after the DeSantis team filed a brief arguing that its workload is too heavy to meet a Nov. 1 deadline set by the court, WFA called the arguments “misplaced.”