Florida Pari-Mutuels Drop Lawsuit Appeal Against Seminoles
- The Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room lawsuit appeal has been dropped by the plaintiffs.
- The initial lawsuit challenging the Seminole Tribes sports betting compact was struck down by U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – One Florida lawsuit appeal that challenged an earlier ruling against pari-mutuels aiming to stop Florida sports betting has been dropped.
Lawyers representing the Bonita Springs Poker Room and Magic City Casino have rescinded their lawsuit against the Florida gambling compact.
Timeline Of The Lawsuit
When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida signed the sports betting compact in May 2021, the Bonita Springs Poker Room and Magic City Casino owners sued to prevent the compact from operating.
The parties challenged the compact's exclusivity clause that gave sole authority to sports betting in Florida to the Seminole Tribe.
In October of 2021, US District Judge Allen Winsor ruled against the plaintiffs, stating that they had no legal standing in the case. The pari-mutuels appealed the ruling.
Florida would then go on to launch regulated sports betting through the Hard Rock Sports app statewide. The pari-mutuels still had a separate lawsuit that was presented in Tallahassee and Washington D.C. Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled in November that the compact was improper, violating the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and struck down its validity.
While the Seminoles have appealed Judge Friedrich’s ruling, Florida was forced to suspend sports betting operations. With sports betting no longer available, and the compact essentially not functional, the pari-mutuels have opted to drop their appeal for the previous lawsuit.
What’s Next For Florida
Judge Friedrich’s ruling is still being appealed but the Seminoles were denied a pause on her ruling as the appeal process operates. While the ruling could be overthrown and changed in favor of the Seminoles, what is also likely is that an entirely new compact would have to be drawn up.
The judge’s main issue with the compact was the provisions that allowed legal online gambling on sporting events from anywhere in the state. This contradicts the language that states all wagers must be done on Seminole grounds.
A new compact may change the language, but it is unknown if Florida will be able to launch without a vote this time around.