Federal Judge Denies Stay In Seminole Tribe Online Sports Betting Case
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) -- A federal judge late Wednesday refused to put on hold a ruling that rejected a deal giving the Seminole Tribe control of online sports betting in Florida.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich issued a five-page order that denied a request by the tribe for a stay of a Monday ruling in which Friedrich said the deal violated federal law. The tribe requested the stay as it appeals the Monday ruling.
In denying the stay, Friedrich wrote, in part, that a stay during an appeal is an "extraordinary remedy" and that the tribe did not meet legal tests to justify it. Among other things, she wrote that the tribe "has not shown a substantial likelihood of success on the merits" and that it "has failed to show that this court's decision will cause it irreparable harm."
The tribe received control of sports betting as part of an agreement, known as a compact, that was signed this spring by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Seminole Tribe of Florida Chairman Marcellus Osceola, Jr. and approved by the Legislature during a May special session. The U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees Indian gambling issues, signed off on the deal in August.
But owners of Magic City Casino in Miami-Dade County and Bonita Springs Poker Room in Southwest Florida, two longtime pari-mutuel facilities, filed a lawsuit against U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and her agency alleging that the sports-betting plan violated a federal law known as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. That law, commonly known as IGRA, creates a framework for gambling activity on tribal lands.
Friedrich's Monday ruling centered on gamblers being able to place sports bets online from across the state, with the wagers run through computer servers on tribal property. She said that violated federal law because bets would be placed off tribal property.
"Altogether, over a dozen provisions in IGRA regulate gaming on 'Indian lands,' and none regulate gaming in another location," the Washington, D.C. judge wrote. "It is equally clear that the (Interior Department) secretary must reject compacts that violate IGRA's terms."
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