TRIBAL GAMING IN FLORIDA
disregard this definition of “Indian lands,” but further defined where exactly a wager takes place. 88 Mobile wagers were deemed by the Compact to be conducted “where the servers or other devices used to conduct such wagering activity” are located. 89 In other words, as long as the servers that accepted and processed the wagers were located on the Seminole Tribe’s land, the wager itself was deemed to take place there. On August 6, 2021, the Interior Secretary issued a letter effectively approving and analyzing the key provisions of the 2021 Compact. 90 IGRA gives the Interior Department forty- five days to approve or deny a tribal-state gaming compact; if the Interior Department takes no action, the compact is deemed approved insofar as it is consistent with the provisions of IGRA. 91 The Interior Secretary took no action on the 2021 Compact submitted by the Seminole Tribe before the forty- five day deadline, and thus it received a “pocket approval.” 92 However, the letter further analyzed the 2021 Compact, stating “it is important that the Department address the provisions relating to internet gaming activities.” 93 Though the Department of the Interior took issue with some provisions of the 2021 Compact, such as the allocation of jurisdiction over tort claims and mandatory vendor contracts, its analysis of the mobile sports betting provisions were generally favorable. 94 Describing the mobile wagering setup as a “hub and spoke model” where the servers act as a hub and each mobile device acts as a connected spoke, the Department determined that the Tribe should have the ability to engage in this type of gaming as long as the patron placing the wager was not located on another tribe’s land. 95 In reaching this finding, the Department noted that IGRA was intended to be a
flexible statute and that evolving technology should not be an impediment to tribal gaming pursuits. 96 Approved by the tribe, state governor, state legislature, and federal government, the 2021 Compact went into effect in August of 2021. As with all other compacts entered into by the Seminole Tribe, the 2021 Compact was an immediate target for litigation. 97 Opponents of the 2021 Compact began challenging it in federal court before the Interior Secretary had even responded to it. 98 IV. Tribal gaming in Florida goes back to court: West Flagler Associates v. Haaland The legal opposition to the 2021 Compact was led primarily by commercial parimutuel and casino operators and a nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organization opposed to the expansion of any gaming in Florida. 99 In July of 2021, the commonly controlled companies of West Flagler Associates, Ltd., and Bonita-Fort Meyers Corporation filed suit against Governor DeSantis in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Florida. 100 The two companies asserted their claims as Florida parimutuel operators of the Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room respectively. 101 The sixty-seven page complaint sought declaratory judgment against the sports betting provisions and to enjoin Governor DeSantis from enacting the 2021 Compact under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Federal Wire Act, and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
88 Bill Summary, supra note 79. 89 Id . 90 Bryan Newland, Principal Deputy Assistant Sec’y – Indian Affairs, Dep’t of the Interior, Letter to Marcellus Osceola, Jr., Chairman, Seminole Tribe of Florida (Aug. 6, 2021). 91 25 U.S.C. 2710(d)(8). 92 Newland, supra note 89. 93 Id . 94 Id . 95 Id . 96 Id . 97 W. Flagler Assocs. v. DeSantis, No. 4:21-cv-00270, 2021 WL 2774512 (N.D.Fla. Oct. 18, 2021). 98 Haley Brown, Casino operators argue off-site betting violates federal gambling regulation, https://floridapolitics.com/archives/439061-miami- casino-owner-sues-over-seminole-tribe-sports-betting-deal/. 99 Scott Powers, Suit challenges federal approval of Florida’s Gaming Compact, https://floridapolitics.com/archives/450913-magic-city-sues-in- federal-court-to-stop-gaming-compact/; No Casinos, CAUSEIQ, https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/no-casinos,371647915/ 100 Complaint at 1, W. Flagler Assocs. v. DeSantis, No. 4:21-cv-00270, 2021 WL 2774512 (N.D.Fla. Oct. 18, 2021). 101 Id . at 5 -7.
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IMGL MAGAZINE | APRIL 2023
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