West Flagler Associates, the owners of the Bonita Springs Poker Room and Magic City Casino in Miami, disagree with the decision made by officials in a sports betting case in Florida, which led to a request for a rehearing in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Heading to the Supreme Court:

The appeal followed a three-judge panel’s decision in June this year, which ruled against the company and restored the 2021 Florida gaming compact, granting the Seminole tribe exclusive access to the state’s online sports betting industry. 

Not long after that, West Flagler filed a petition, where the company wrote: “The Opinion is erroneous and will create confusion, and thus rehearing is warranted.”

However, a sports gambling attorney from South Florida, Daniel Wallach, isn’t optimistic about the outcome of the rehearing. But he doesn’t think the company will give up. On the contrary, he is sure that the case will have to be completed in the U.S. Supreme Court since there is a disagreement between lower courts and the gray area of the law that can’t be easily resolved at the lower instances, according to CBS 12 News.

The main concern is the so-called Seminole’s “hub and spoke” model that the tribe uses in its online sports betting business. The gamblers will be able to be present anywhere in the state, nevermind where the tribal land is, while the servers for accepting the bets must be based on the tribal land since the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) allows tribal gaming to occur only on lands owned by the tribes.

Wallach claims that this is a federal question of great importance, which makes the whole process much more complicated than it would usually be. 

Seminoles’ opinions and rights:

However, according to Wallach, Seminoles have the right to launch their sportsbook whenever they want, without obstacles. He said: “The withholding of the mandate isn’t the equivalent of an injunction. It’s just that most parties aren’t really looking to offend the court by jumping the gun while the potential for further proceedings is still possible.”

All of this happened just after sports betting in Florida became legal. The lawsuit paused the legalization, but in June, it was legalized once again. Seminoles didn’t want to make any moves since then, showing their respect to the court.

The Seminoles commented on the process in the statement, saying that the judges approved the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision to grant control over the business to the tribe.

However, if the tribe wants to proceed, another panel of judges will have to approve it, which Wallach doesn’t believe will happen. According to the source, the tribe declined to comment on the course of events.