Sports betting in the state of Florida has been a strange story, and it has been one that seems like it will never end. We could be one step closer to getting a resolution, and it is one that will make the sports bettors in the state happy.
The Seminole Tribe could be looking to launch online sports betting as soon as September 19th, as the tribe has received some favorable outcomes in the court system. Sports betting has been tied up in the judicial system for years, and things didn’t appear to be trending in the right direction for the Seminole Tribe.
West Flagler and Associates has challenged the legality of online sports betting in the state of Florida since Hard Rock Bet was launched by the Seminole Tribe. That challenge forced the Seminole Tribe to remove the online sportsbook app after just months on the market, but there was always a hope that it would be able to return.
Earlier this summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the gaming compacts in Florida, ultimately giving the Seminole Tribe power to launch again. An appeal was always going to come, but a decision to not allow the appeal to be heard was handed down this week.
With that decision being handed down Monday, it is slated to go into effect eight days after it was announced, which would be on September 19th. Hard Rock Bet could relaunch in the state of Florida, but bettors in the state should not expect to have betting options available on that date.
An Even Bigger Move Coming?
It appears as if West Flagler and Associates are getting desperate in their attempt to stop online sports betting in Florida, and they are also running out of options. The next step would likely be the United States Supreme Court, but it’s unclear if the justices would even be open to hearing that case.
More information should be coming soon in this case, though, as West Flagler and Associates has just one week to decide on the next steps. Legal analysts believe that any appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately be denied, and that would be another significant step for the Seminole Tribe.
Parimutuels in the state could also be looking to keep the Seminole Tribe from launching, and they could challenge the legality of sports betting in state courts. That hasn’t happened up to this point, and they could back off based on the results of what is happening at the federal level.
Even if sports betting is not able to launch in September of this year, things appear to be trending in the right direction for this market.
What Will Betting Look Like?
Even though it is still unclear if sports betting in Florida is going to return anytime soon, it’s pretty clear as to what this market would ultimately look like. All of the sports betting would be offered by the Seminole Tribe, and the only betting option would be the Hard Rock Bet mobile sportsbook app.
The Seminole Tribe was able to negotiate a new gaming compact with Governor Ron DeSantis, and this tribe already controls the entire gaming industry in the state. Betting could also be done at the casinos that are run by the Seminoles, but most bettors would prefer to wager online.
Florida would become the largest state in terms of population with legal sports betting if a relaunch was to occur.
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