The future of sports betting in Florida remained rocky after a divided appeals court rejected the Seminole Tribe’s request to put on hold a federal judge’s ruling that scrapped a deal giving the tribe control over online sports betting throughout the state. It was not immediately clear whether the Seminoles plan to suspend their online sports-betting operations after the appeals court’s decision.
The future of sports betting in Florida remained rocky on Friday, after a divided appeals court rejected the Seminole Tribe’s request to put on hold a federal judge’s ruling that scrapped a deal giving the tribe control over online sports betting throughout the state.
The tribe filed an emergency motion last week asking the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to stay U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich’s Nov. 22 ruling. Owners of two Florida pari-mutuels filed the lawsuit challenging the deal, known as a compact.
Friedrich decision found that U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, whose agency oversees tribal gambling, erred in allowing the compact to go into effect because it violates federal law. Friedrich’s ruling also rejected the tribe’s motions to intervene in the lawsuit, which was filed against Haaland and the Department of Interior, and have it dismissed.
After a flurry of court filings this week, a three-judge panel of the Washington, D.C.-based appellate court denied the Seminoles’ attempt to put Friedrich’s ruling on hold until their appeal is resolved.
“Appellant has not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal,” the order by Judges Cornelia T.L. Pillard and Justin R. Walker said. The order said Judge Judith W. Rogers would have granted a stay.
The appellate judges did not elaborate on their reasons, as is common in such decisions.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Seminole Tribe of Florida Chairman Marcellus Osceola, Jr., signed the compact this spring. The Legislature approved it during a May special session, although some lawmakers and gambling experts questioned whether it would withstand legal scrutiny.
The “hub-and-spoke” sports-betting plan in the compact was designed to allow gamblers throughout the state to place bets online, with the bets run through computer servers […]
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