The Seminole Tribe of Florida removed the largest potential legal obstacle to its mobile sports betting operation in the Sunshine State on Monday after reaching an agreement with the West Flagler Parties regarding future litigation.
The Seminole Tribe, which does business as Hard Rock, has conducted full-scale mobile wagering in Florida via Hard Rock Bet since early last December, more than three years after the tribe and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis agreed on a 30-year compact in April 2021 that would provide $500 million in annual revenue to the state after expanding its gaming at Hard Rock casinos.
In return for the West Flagler Parties for agreeing not to pursue any future litigation, the Seminole Tribe has entered a partnership with the West Flagler Parties to offer and promote jai alai wagering on the Hard Rock Bet mobile app. The West Flagler Associates, which consisted of parimutuels and smaller casinos, had their last legal challenge end in June when the U.S. Supreme Court denied its petition for writ of certiorari.
“This is truly a win-win agreement for the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler," said CEO of Seminole Gaming Jim Allen in a joint statement. "This agreement establishes a relationship of collaboration among the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler in the State of Florida. Rather than engaging in years of additional litigation, this agreement will allow the parties to work together to promote Jai Alai, which has played an important role in Florida’s gaming landscape for nearly 100 years.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Seminole Tribe in support of their gaming operations in Florida and to promote Jai Alai, which has been a critical component of Florida’s gaming industry since the 1920s," added Isadore Havenick on behalf of the West Flagler Parties. "We are proud that Jai Alai will be featured on the Hard Rock Bet app and we look forward to developing a strong partnership with the Seminole Tribe.”
The Long Road It Took to Get Here
JUST IN: Longtime @HardRockBet opponent West Flagler has now partnered with the Seminole Tribe of Florida ending all legal battles.
As part of the agreement, bettors will soon be able to make Jai Alai wagers on Hard Rock's app.
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) October 28, 2024
The Seminole Tribe and West Flagler Parties fought extensively in court almost immediately after the compact to offer Class III gaming was signed. West Flagler Associates sued both the U.S. Department of the Interior and the state of Florida for allowing the compact. Then-U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland did not sign off on the compact as the federal agency instead had the compact "deemed approved" following a 45-day waiting period in August 2021. The DOI argued the West Flagler Associates should have taken its case to state court since Florida law made the compact legal.
Hard Rock originally offered sports betting in late 2021 before the U.S. District Court ruled the compact was ruled illegal, with the judge vacating the newer compact and restoring the old one. Hard Rock then shut down sports betting after it lost an appeal for a stay on the ruling.
The main argument the West Flagler Associates made in hearings was that the compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). The controversial aspect was the compact signed by DeSantis and Hard Rock argued mobile sports betting was legal in Florida if digital wagers flowed through a server on tribal lands, the bets would be deemed to be placed on those lands, making the server on the tribal lands the "hub," with the mobile sportsbook the "spokes" connected to it.
The U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the district court ruling that made the compact illegal in a unanimous 3-0 decision in June 2023, clearing the way for Hard Rock to again offer sports wagering. The hub-and-spoke model declared legal that Hard Rock is using for mobile sports betting is being viewed as a potential blueprint for tribes to offer sports wagering in states that have yet to legalize, most notably in Minnesota and potentially California.
The petition served as West Flagler’s last chance to overturn a decision by the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia last June. That decision reversed a previous ruling by a federal judge who held that the compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Though Justice Brett Kavanaugh voted to grant the petition for a writ of certiorari, Supreme Court procedure requires at least four justices to grant certiorari to take up a case. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson took no part in the consideration of the petition, according to the Court.
On the state level, the Florida Supreme Court denied WFA’s petition in March to deem the compact unconstitutional. There, the parimutuel argued that the state’s executive and legislative branches abused their authority. Though West Flagler still has options in state court, the parimutuel has practically exhausted every opportunity to challenge the compact.
