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Two Florida pari-mutuels filed a new motion in federal district court to block the implementation of online sports betting under the Florida tribal gaming compact.
The motion, filed by Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room against U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, asks a court to enjoin the sports-betting portion of the state’s compac, which gives the Seminole tribe a monopoly over sports betting in the state by allowing wagers to go through an internet server on tribal land.
The plaintiffs want the court to reverse the decision and block implementation until a legal sports-betting compact is established for Florida.
Under the deal signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by the Florida Legislature, anyone in Florida over age 21 can start placing and collecting online wagers on sporting events “via the internet [or] web application” from anywhere in Florida beginning. All transactions would go through servers located on tribal land intended to bypass both federal and state law, which both deem sports betting in Florida illegal unless authorized in state law.