The case that could decide the future of legal sports betting in the Sunshine State is just one of many federal lawyers are working on at the moment, which may explain why the U.S. Supreme Court is giving the government another month to formulate a response.
A motion to extend the time needed to file a response to a request for a Supreme Court review was granted on Friday by the judges, giving the federal government until May 13 to fire back in the long-running legal drama over online sports betting in Florida.
The case, West Flagler Associates Ltd. v. Haaland, concerns the federal government’s approval of a gaming compact between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe.
That agreement handed the Seminole control over legal sports betting in the Sunshine State, which the tribe is currently using to offer statewide mobile wagering via its Hard Rock Bet app, in addition to in-person action at its casino.
However, two Florida gaming firms filed a so-called petition for a writ of certiorari on Feb. 8, asking the Supreme Court to review an appeals judgment that paved the way for Hard Rock’s return to Florida.
JUST IN: #SCOTUS has granted the federal government’s motion to extend the response deadline in the Florida sports betting case and tacked on 1 more day for good measure. The new deadline for the DoJ and the Seminole Tribe to file a response brief is May 13th. https://t.co/sz3SBdnhkJ
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) April 5, 2024
A response was due from the federal government on March 13, but the government then asked for and received an extension to file a response until April 12. The government’s lawyers are plenty busy still, as another month-long extension was requested by the feds last week due to their workload.
“This extension is necessary because the attorneys with principal responsibility for final preparation of the government’s response have been heavily engaged with the press of other matters before the Court,” U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in an April 4 letter to the Supreme Court's clerk.
The request for an extension was granted. The federal government now has until May 13 to file a response, according to the Supreme Court's website.
The road is long ...
This latest extension could prolong the case's resolution even further than it has already taken. The matter stems back to 2021, when the West Flagler group challenged the federal government’s approval of the Florida-Seminole compact and initially got it invalidated. An appeals court reversed that decision last year, which allowed Hard Rock Bet to relaunch in Florida.
An attempt to challenge the compact before the Florida Supreme Court was recently thrown out by those state judges. Nevertheless, an attempt to get the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene is ongoing, hence the extension received last week.
At issue is whether the federal government overstepped in permitting an agreement that includes statewide online sports betting for the Seminole, including wagers placed off their lands in Florida. West Flagler Associates Ltd. and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp. (which are wholly owned by Southwest Florida Enterprises Inc.) contend Florida's approach is unlawful and needs to be undone before it sets a national precedent.
... with many a winding turn
The gaming companies argue there are a few questions that need answering by the U.S. Supreme Court, such as whether the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) "authorizes the approval of a compact that purports to allow for an online sports gambling monopoly throughout the state and off Indian lands."
At stake is the Florida sports betting market, the most populous one among U.S. states. Hard Rock Bet’s return there has led to a significant increase in the operator's share of the overall sports wagering in the U.S., solely because of how many bettors there are in the Sunshine State.
Florida, the Seminole, and the feds believe the agreement is legally sound, hence the return of sports betting to the state late last year. However, a formal response may now have to wait until next month.
