The Seminole Tribe of Florida has ended its legal battle with several parimutuel betting operators after years of litigation over the legality of its OSB monopoly.
The Hard Rock Bet operator announced the deal with West Flagler Associates, Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation, Southwest Florida Enterprises, Inc. and Isadore Havenick yesterday (28 October).
Under the deal, the parimutuels will agree to refrain from future litigation regarding the tribe’s gaming operations, instead beginning a new partnership to offer and promote betting on Jai Alai on the Hard Rock Bet app.
The West Flagler parties had challenged the Seminole Tribe’s Florida gaming compact, which granted it an effective statewide monopoly on online sports betting, all the way to the US Supreme Court, as well as in a separate state-level lawsuit.
Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen said: “This is truly a win-win agreement for the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler. 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.”
Jai Alai is a sport involving bouncing a ball of a walled-in space using a handheld wicker. It is played worldwide but is especially popular in Spain, France, Latin America and Florida.
End of Florida sports betting litigation
The agreement specifies the West Flagler Parties will not bring or support any future legal challenge to the Seminole Tribe’s gaming operations, including mobile gaming, now or in the future.
In addition, Jai Alai, provided by West Flagler subsidiary Battle Court Jai Alai, LLC, will be offered on the Hard Rock Bet app with an anticipated early 2025 launch date.
Isadore Havenick added: “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.
“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.”
Seminole betting monopoly background
The Seminole Tribe’s online sports betting monopoly dates to May 2021, when the tribe signed a new 30-year Class III gaming compact with Florida that gave it sole authority to operate online gambling under a 13.75% tax rate.
The US Department of Interior’s authority to authorise the compact was challenged by two parimutuel betting operators in the DC District Court, with the tribe then shutting down its Hard Rock Sportsbook offering in December after a judge ruled against the government.
However, this decision was reversed in June 2023 after a three-judge panel in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit this time sided with the government.
In the aftermath of this decision, the tribe relaunched its rebranded Hard Rock Bet sports betting platform for all Florida residents in December 2023.
West Flagler attempted to appeal the ruling in the US Supreme Court, but ultimately failed after the court opted not to grant certiorari and take up the case.
What impacts will this have?
While the Supreme Court’s decision not to review West Flagler’s appeal ended all active litigation in May, gaming attorney Daniel Wallach highlighted potential avenues for future lawsuits in an interview with NEXT.io.
This, he argued, could have included a fresh federal court challenge on Equal Protections Clause grounds, or else another state lawsuit.
He said at the time: “The Supreme Court’s denial of cert would not necessarily be the end of the line for West Flagler. They would still have the proverbial two bites of the apple remaining.”
The settled legality of “hub-and-spoke” gaming compacts, in which bets are wired through servers on tribal land to satisfy the requirements of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, has big potential implications for the future of US online gaming.
The Biden Administration affirmed this model in Department of Interior rule-making published in February this year.
There has been speculation that other states with powerful tribal gaming interests, most importantly California, may follow this route to legalise sports betting.
In addition, the ruling was highlighted by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in its challenge of the Colorado State Government’s authority to regulate its OSB platform.
