ORLANDO, Fla. – A constitutional amendment requiring any expansion of gambling to be approved by Florida voters in 2018 included many forms of gaming, but not sports betting, according to attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis urging the Florida Supreme Court to reject a lawsuit to stop online sports betting in the state.
Two South Florida companies, West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., are asking the Supreme Court to undo the 2021 state compact with the Seminole Tribe that would allow the tribe to expand casino gambling and bring online sports betting to the state.
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The companies say the compact violates the 2018 constitutional amendment, which barred any expansion of casino gaming on non-tribal lands without voter approval because bettors would be allowed to use Seminole Hard Rock’s sports betting app anywhere in the state.
But lawyers for the Florida attorney general’s office say the language of the amendment does not include sports betting under its definition of casino gambling, and therefore it should not be barred.
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The lawyers also questioned whether the court even had jurisdiction to decide the case in the first place, since the Seminole Tribe had sovereign immunity and therefore could not be included in the lawsuit, even though it stood to benefit from the compact.
The 2018 amendment says “Florida voters shall have the exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling in the State of Florida,” and does not conflict with federal law regarding state/tribal compacts.
The full text of the amendment also includes this definition of “casino gambling:”
“Casino gambling” means any of the types of games typically found in casinos and that are within the definition of Class III gaming in the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act... As used herein, “casino gambling” includes any electronic gambling devices, simulated gambling devices, video lottery devices, internet sweepstakes devices, and any other form of electronic or electromechanical facsimiles of any game of chance, slot machine, or casino-style game, regardless of how such devices are defined under IGRA.”
While how the Florida Supreme Court rules is anyone’s guess, a decision in an unrelated case last week may provide some insight.
Justices last week ruled victims of crimes were not guaranteed the right to have their name exempted from public record under another 2018 Florida constitutional amendment, known as Marsy’s Law. The justices ruled that the “plain, usual, ordinary and commonly accepted meaning” at the time the amendment was written did not include names.
The conservative court bench, which generally skews toward a literal interpretation of the constitution, may find some agreement with attorneys for DeSantis.
Meanwhile, a federal lawsuit on this issue could still land in the U.S. Supreme Court. The two companies are suing the federal government for signing off on the Seminole Compact. An appeals court earlier this year said the U.S. Interior secretary was within her legal purview to sign off on the compact.
The two companies have until Feb. 8 to formally petition the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.
Neither lawsuit is currently blocking sports gaming in Florida currently. The Seminole Tribe opened its Hard Rock Bet app to Florida gamers last month, and later this week the Tribe will open expanded casino gaming and onsite sports betting at its casinos throughout the state.
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