The Seminole Tribe will open its Hard Rock Bet digital sports betting platform to anyone in the state of Florida Thursday, a tribal spokesperson confirmed to Monday evening. No other information about the launch was provided, but it will coincide with the opening of sportsbooks at three retail locations, including at the Seminoles’ flagship Hollywood location.
“We're continuing our rollout of the Hard Rock Bet app in Florida and look forward to the official launch of in-person and mobile sports betting on Thursday,” spokesman Gary Bitner said via email.
Hard Rock Bet has been available to a limited number of customers since Nov. 7, when the tribe launched the betting app without any warning and in the midst of multiple court cases that could ultimately force the tribe to take the platform down. West Flagler and Associates (WFA) has filed suit in Florida Supreme Court against Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of the legislature and is preparing to do the same against the U.S. Department of the Interior in U.S. Supreme Court in February 2024.
Both cases seek to have the monopoly created by the 2021 Seminole-State of Florida compact declared illegal. WFA has asked the Supreme Court to keep a stay in place that would have prevented launch and then asked the Florida court to order the Seminoles to take their platform down. Both courts refused.