The U.S. Department of the Interior didn’t mince words Thursday when it opposed arguments by West Flagler and Associates in a court case involving the future of sports betting in Florida and wrote that a request for a rehearing is “unwarranted.”
The DOI and a pair of Florida parimutuels are battling in federal court over the legality of a compact signed between the the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe. It centers on whether the DOI rightfully approved the compact, which would give the tribe a monopoly on retail and digital sports betting in the state.
If recent history is any indicator, the request for the new hearing will draw the case out for months, if not a year, meaning that the Seminole Tribe still cannot relaunch its Hard Rock Bet digital platform in Florida. As long as the case is active, since originating in U.S. District Court in August 2021, an order preventing the tribe from offering digital sports betting remains in place.
Simple English? Don’t plan on being able to place a mobile bet in Florida this football season.