Florida Sports Betting Case Reviewed In Supreme Court Meeting

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Written By Giovanni Shorter | Last Updated
Florida Sports Betting

The Supreme Court is meeting Thursday to review the West Flagler Associates petition against the Florida sports betting ruling. A possible ruling on the case could come by Monday. The meeting will be a private one, and the public will not be privy to any rulings until at least Monday. This could be the climax of the drama surrounding Florida online sportsbooks.

Refresher On The Florida Sports Betting Case

To recap, West Flagler Associates filed a writ of certiorari back in February. This petition was against a ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court that went in favor of the Seminole Tribe and allowed the gaming compact to go into effect. This launched online sports wagering in Florida. West Flagler is aiming for the Supreme Court to overrule the Circuit Court ruling.

Potential Results From The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court will have three potential responses to the petition.

Grant Cert: The first will be to grant cert or take on the case. This would see the Supreme Court review the initial D.C. Circuit Court ruling and give its own ruling following litigation. Essentially, this would kick start an entire new Florida sports betting case surrounding the compact.

Denial of Cert: The second option would be to deny the cert or turn down the case. West Flagler would likely bring the case to another court following this result.

Summary Reversal: The final potential outcome would be for the Supreme Court to grant a summary reversal. This would see the court review and resolve the case without briefing or oral arguments.

What This Means For Florida Bettors

Florida sports wagering fans should keep an eye on this case because it can affect the betting market. Should the Supreme Court ultimately overrule the D.C. Circuit Court decision, the Seminole Tribe of Florida may be forced to shutter their betting operation. This occurred briefly in 2021 when Florida initially launched sports wagering and was forced to shut down operations after just a few weeks.

There is a much broader element at play, however. The way Florida went about launching sports betting could set a precedent for other markets. There was no resident vote and no bill was brought to the House or Senate for approval. The compact was drawn up by the current administration and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

This granted the Seminoles a monopoly on sports betting in Florida without any say-so from local casinos or other operators. However the Supreme Court chooses to rule, it can have a major impact on the betting industry as a whole.

Photo by Associated Press

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