The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to an agreement that gave the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to run online sports betting in Florida.
Therefore, the decision is a serious blow to opponents of the agreement, as it once and for all consolidates the tribe’s position in the state’s million-dollar online sports betting market.
Impact of the decision on sports betting
Opponents of the settlement filed a petition promising to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the state of Florida and the tribe.
This was yet another setback for the conglomerate of companies, West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., which are currently responsible for poker rooms, racetracks and other games in the state of Florida.
For opponents, the decision was extremely unfair. The country’s Supreme Court simply granted the tribe a monopoly on sports betting.
Therefore, according to the conglomerate’s lawyers, this decision violates the Indian Gaming Regulation Act, which requires that gaming take place on tribal lands.
The defense argues that, as sports betting takes place online, it takes place anywhere in Florida, including indigenous lands. The most important thing for them is that the servers are hosted on indigenous lands.
Economic benefits
But despite the controversies, the Seminole Tribe’s online sports betting operation, launched late last year, has already generated significant revenue.
In other words, Florida’s share of revenue was US$357 million from December to May, as reported by the Seminole Tribe.
As such, analysts predict that tribal gaming revenue sharing could total $4.4 billion by 2030. Of course, the Seminole Tribe celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling. Because for them, sports betting guarantees a prosperous future for both tribal members and the population of Florida.
The decision could have implications beyond Florida’s borders. Therefore, other tribes in different states may be encouraged to follow the same path to operate online gambling.
“Tribes in other states will benefit from this decision as they now have a clear roadmap that has passed judicial review,” a spokesperson for the group said.
