The US Department of the Interior filed a response to the Supreme Court on 18 October, arguing that the 2021 Florida compact is consistent with IGRA and UIGEA. It said West Flagler had not met the requirements for a stay affecting the Seminoles’ planned Hard Rock Bet launch; the court had yet to rule.
The court’s decision will affect whether the Seminoles can launch their sports betting platform in Florida.
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A newly disclosed court filing in Florida alleges that Krishna Deokaran gave cash to Robin Severance-Lopez for her estranged husband, former Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez. Severance-Lopez denies involvement in the alleged gambling network, and her lawyers say the case against her rests on an LLC allegedly created by Lopez in her name.
Protect The Constitution filed a lawsuit in Tallahassee challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s online sports betting arrangement with the Seminole Tribe. The Delaware-based company argues that allowing betting beyond tribal lands without voter approval breaches Amendment 3; supporters of the compact have argued that bets are placed on tribal land because the servers are there.
The US Supreme Court declined to hear West Flagler Associates’ challenge to the Seminole Tribe’s gaming compact with Florida, leaving the state’s sports betting model in place. The compact permits bets placed outside tribal land to be processed on servers located on tribal land; commentators said the ruling could inform discussions in California, though its political circumstances differ.
The US Supreme Court denied West Flagler and Associates’ request to stay a lower-court ruling, leaving the Seminole Tribe legally able to proceed with its Hard Rock Bet platform under federal law. The denial did not resolve the pending cases or prevent West Flagler from seeking a stay in Florida’s Supreme Court; the company said it planned to appeal its federal case by 20 November.
The Florida Supreme Court ordered Governor Ron DeSantis to respond by 1 November in a case challenging the Seminole Tribe’s 2021 gaming compact, according to the report. The report said the order did not materially affect the timing of a Hard Rock Bet launch; a Seminole spokesman said an earlier appeals-court decision would have no immediate effect on the tribe’s plans.