The Seminole Tribe of Florida has begun attempts to appeal a decision made by a Federal Judge yesterday to block the Tribe’s expansion of online sports betting and gaming throughout the state.
As per yesterday’s reports, District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich stated that the Tribe agreement with the state of Florida, which aimed to legalize online betting, broke federal law.
Specifically, Friedrich argued that the agreement between the two parties violated a law that required patrons to appear on tribal land physically when placing a bet.
Initially, issues arose when-non Indian casinos moved to challenge the decision to allow online sports betting for tribal operators. In response, the Seminole Tribe argued that because the online servers are located on tribal land, this is in accordance with state law.
“When a federal statute authorizes activity only at specific locations,” noted Friedrich, “parties may not evade that limitation by ‘deeming’ their activity to occur where it, as a factual matter, does not.”
In response, Marcellus W. Osceola, Chairman of the Tribe, said: “The tribe’s online sports betting authorized by the compact is now in operation, and is generating millions in revenue per week.
"The tribe is using these funds to pay back the development costs for its online sportsbook, make revenue-sharing payments to the state, and fund important tribal programs.”
