The Biden administration has encouraged the US Supreme Court to advance an appeals-court ruling to move ahead in a decision regarding whether the state of Florida will allow sports betting, according to an NBC6 Miami local report.
After the case moved to the Supreme Court in September, this advance could potentially lead to legalized mobile sports betting in Florida.
The move resulted from a recent 29-page response to Chief Justice John Roberts’ decision to “temporarily halt the appeals-court ruling,” filed by US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar. She represents the US Department of the Interior, which recently ruled to uphold the latest compact between the Seminole Tribe and the state of Florida.
Prelogar told local news that “it is unlikely the Supreme Court will ultimately take up a challenge to the appeals-court ruling.”
Roberts had issued the order after two Florida pari-mutuel companies filed a lawsuit. The companies submitted a petition to the Florida court to stop the Seminole Tribe from “implementing online sports betting” as part of its compact with the state.
West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation recently sued state Governor Ron DeSantis, House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, claiming that DeSantis “exceeded his authority by agreeing to the compact” and that it “violates a 2018 constitutional amendment approved by voters.”
During 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis, along with lawmakers, approved a compact with the Seminole Tribe that permits the Tribe to accept sports bets from mobile devices statewide through servers operated on Tribal land. The compact stated that wagers using mobile apps or electronic devices, “shall be deemed to be exclusively conducted by the Tribe,” the local report said.
