U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to Gaming Compact allowing sports wagering in Florida

The Seminole Tribe of Florida will be able to continue its sports betting operations throughout the state as the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case against the tribe’s mobile gaming functions.

West Flagler Associates filed a writ of certiorari and requested the nation’s highest court take up the case, according to reporting by Sportshandle.com. Supreme Court Justices denied the request from West Flagler, which had been claiming that the Seminole Tribe violated the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

“The Seminole Tribe of Florida applauds today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to decline consideration of the case involving the Tribe’s Gaming Compact with the State of Florida,” read a prepared statement from the Seminole Tribe.

“It means members of the Seminole Tribe and all Floridians can count on a bright future made possible by the Compact.”

The case has been ongoing for years. West Flagler Associates claimed in its earlier litigation in 2021 that the Gaming Compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe should be invalidated. That accord grants the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights for sports betting in the state.

The litigation has bounced back and forth before multiple federal Judges who ruled on each side of the case. The group also brought forward a separate case before the Florida Supreme Court prior to the request for review from the U.S. Supreme Court. But that effort also failed, leaving this SCOTUS challenge as a last-ditch attempt to invalidate the Gaming Compact.

Some critics have raised questions about the Seminole Tribe having a literal monopoly on mobile wagering in Florida. But only U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh voted for the West Flagler Associates’ petition to be heard by the high court.

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