In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court made a historic decision to overturn the federal ban on sports betting, opening the door for states in general to allow betting on sporting events. Since that decision, in the past five years, nearly 40 states have legalized sports betting to varying degrees, changing the landscape of gambling in the country. However, Florida has remained in the minority on this issue despite the widespread popularity of sporting events among the state’s residents.
In 2021, Governor Ron Desantis brought about a tangible change by signing a historic gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. According to this agreement, all betting in the state will be solely on sports betting issues, and betting on other gambling games like poker or casinos is not expected to take place.
This agreement is significant because, at the time, the tribe had already been in the online sports betting business for a little over a month and was forced to cease its online sports betting activities due to a lack of legal grounds. The 2021 compact, however, greatly expanded the tribe’s sphere of influence, giving them control over all sports betting across the state, including online sports betting.
A lawsuit filed by West Flagler Associates, which owned the Magic City Casino in Miami until February, caused an uproar in the court system. The company argued that a gambling agreement between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe violated a federal law limiting treaties to tribal lands and, contrary to prior interpretations, online sports betting falls outside the scope of that law.
A federal court judge in Washington, D.C., has declared victory, at least at this stage, in favor of the Seminole Tribe. If this ruling is not reversed, it will open the tribe up to huge revenues from online sports betting, which, according to projections, could be measured in billions of dollars a year.
At the moment, many Florida residents still bet online on their favorite teams, like the Miami Dolphins, on foreign sites. According to www.topcadcasinos.net, many Canadian casinos and bookmakers accept players from other countries for Canadian dollars. Therefore, the state budget is underpaid by a huge amount of taxes.
Representatives of the Seminole Tribe of Florida declined to comment on whether and when they plan to resume accepting bets. However, in their statement, they expressed their satisfaction with the court’s decision, indicating its significant impact on their future and status in the gambling industry.
