By all accounts, it appears that Floridians may soon be allowed to enjoy everything that online sports betting has to offer. An ongoing legal battle continues to run in the state, revolving specifically over betting that has occurred off Seminole tribal land, and should the pastime be legalized, one does wonder if online casino action would swiftly follow.
This all dates back to an agreement made between the tribe and the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, two years ago that would allow sports betting to only occur via the Seminole tribe. The deal would then earn the state a massive sum in terms of taxation on the gambling revenue.
However, lawsuits have been incoming from companies who want a slice of the online gambling pie, and that’s one mighty big pie. The amount to be made from online casinos in Florida would amount to billions in revenue, that’s if New York’s numbers over the course of their first year in the online sports betting business is anything to go by. Therefore, it’s no surprise that others would want to be in on the deal.
This is why this whole saga could roll on and on, as commented on by Daniel Wallach, a South Florida gaming and sports betting attorney, who stated;
“Some competing gaming operators brought a lawsuit arguing that this compact violated federal law because the authorization of online sports betting went beyond what federal law permitted, which was only to regulate gaming on Indian land”
Raquel Rodriguez, an attorney with Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney PC, wrote within an extensive lawsuit on the matter;
“This abuse of authority warrants this court’s review and correction,” referring to the agreement made with Governor DeSantis.
“The amendment is an enduring grant to the people themselves – and only them — to authorize new gambling in Florida. The constitutional provision should be interpreted for sports betting as it exists today,”
On the pending cases and where Florida will stand on the matter in due course, Daniel Wallach added;
“Do I think online sports betting will ultimately be allowed under the compact? It’s probably a better than 50 percent chance that the Seminole Tribe will end up .. having the ability to roll out online sports betting. But the key question for today is one of timing.”
“What is known is these parallel judicial proceedings will likely cause further delay in the timing of the rollout of online sports betting.”
There is a sense that Florida will legalize sports betting soon enough and that in doing so, a domino effect could come into play, leading to a number of other states following suit, leading, no doubt, to online casino action also being allowed.
The United States has a very complex framework when it comes to casino and sports gambling, not least because each state adopts its own approach but also because, in the age of internet gambling, it’s very hard to prevent some slippage in terms of the policing of such state-bound legalities.
