Supreme Court Declines to Block Florida Tribal Online Sports Betting

Court refuses to block federal appeals court decision, allowing Seminole Tribe to operate online sports betting in Florida amid ongoing legal battles, with implications for billions in revenue and gambling regulation nationwide.

• The Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a decision by a federal appeals court, allowing the Seminole Tribe in Florida to continue operating online sports betting despite legal challenges brought forth by two other casinos in Florida.
• The law at the center of this dispute is the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act (IGRA), which permits tribes to enter into agreements, or compacts, with the states they reside in order to offer casino games and sports betting. The law is designed such that if the Secretary of the Interior doesn't act on the compact within 45 days, it's automatically approved.
• The Seminole Tribe and Florida had agreed on a compact in 2021 that would permit the tribe to operate online sports betting for anyone located within Florida, not just on tribal lands. The Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, did not act on the compact within the specified 45 days, thereby causing it to go into effect in August 2021.
• Two competing casinos in the state legally challenged Haaland's tacit approval of the compact, arguing that under the IGRA, compacts can only authorize gaming on tribal lands and that the compact violates federal laws by permitting online sports betting off the tribal lands. They further claimed it violates equal treatment by allowing the tribe to offer online sports betting while others could face criminal liabilities for the same.
• Florida's agreement with the Seminole Tribe is anticipated to bring lucrative revenues expected to be $2.5 billion over the next five years and an estimated $6 billion by 2030. The Supreme court's decision could spur other states and tribes to pursue similar deals.

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