Seminole Tribe Has Until Thursday to Submit Florida Sports Betting Response

• The Seminole Tribe has until Thursday, Aug. 31, to submit response to D.C. District Court
• The D.C. Circuit Court ordered the Seminole Tribe provide a response to West Flagler Associates en banc hearing request
• En banc hearings are typically not granted

The Seminole Tribe has until Thursday to submit a response to West Flagler Associates’ petition for an en banc hearing of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s decision to restore a 2021 Florida gaming compact.

The D.C. Circuit court made the request of the tribe two weeks ago, giving them until Aug. 31 to craft a response. At stake is a potential Florida online sports betting monopoly for the Seminole Tribe and its state-based casinos. If the gaming compact remains, the tribe will also be able to offer roulette and craps in its casinos.

It was a surprising request, as the U.C. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia typically does not ask for responses to a petition. The court typically will either deny or accept the petition for an en banc hearing.

This could indicate some potential interest in rehearing the case since the court's own rules state that "[n]o response may be filed to a petition for an en banc consideration unless the court orders a response." Well, the court has now ordered a response on its own motion.🧐 pic.twitter.com/qFtRSiilWy

— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) August 17, 2023

En Banc Hearings Rarely Granted

Despite the request, the odds are still unlikely that West Flagler receives an en banc hearing. The court has not granted an en banc rehearing since 2021. West Flager petitioned the court for an en banc hearing on Monday, Aug. 14.

If accepted, however, all 11 judges of the D.C. Circuit Court would hear the argument from West Flagler that a 2021 Florida Gaming Compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). West Flagler has contended throughout the process that the gaming compact violates IGRA and incorrectly allows the Seminole Tribe to host online gaming, such as sports betting, off tribal lands.

In West Flagler’s hearing petition, counsel for the plaintiff’s wrote that the Supreme Court’s ruling of Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community found the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) regulates gaming on “Indian lands, and nowhere else.”

“The Opinion is erroneous and will create confusion, and thus rehearing is warranted. The Opinion relies on an interpretation of an IGRA provision itemizing the ancillary subject matters that are permissible in an IGRA compact. As shown by both the plain text of this provision and the overall legislative purpose of IGRA, this provision cannot reasonably be read to allow IGRA compacts to contain provisions that on their face seek to authorize gaming activities off of Indian lands,” counsel wrote in the document.

In late June, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the the District of Columbia unanimously agreed to overturn a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich that declared a 2021 Florida gaming compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

The gaming compact was thrown out by Friedrich in November 2021. Ultimately, Friedrich determined the compact violated the conditions set forth by IGRA that limits tribal gaming to the confines of tribal lands. The Seminole Tribe argued in the gaming compact that because the servers that processed the online sports bets were located on tribal land, then the bets themselves were placed on tribal lands.

When May Florida Sports Betting Launch?

The D.C. District Court is likely to make a decision on whether it should grant the en banc hearing quickly after its receives the Seminole Tribe’s response. There is no timeline or deadline for when the court needs to determine if an en banc hearing is granted, but the court will likely not let this linger.

Daniel Wallach, a gaming law attorney, Founder of Wallach Legal and UNHLaw Sports Wagering, said on social media that if the court denies the en banc rehearing on Aug. 31 the official mandate could go into effect on Thursday, Sept. 7.

NEW: The D.C. Circuit has ordered the Seminole Tribe of Florida to file a response to West Flagler’s petition for rehearing en banc by Aug. 31. This means that the earliest the mandate can potentially issue is Sept. 7, further delaying any potential relaunch of sports betting. pic.twitter.com/EaTRQkQOjZ

— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) August 17, 2023

This would be the earliest the mandate would go into effect, clearing the way for the Seminole Tribe to launch online sports betting.

Currently, there is nothing to keep the Seminole Tribe from launching sports betting in Florida. There is no injunction or official mandate saying the tribe cannot engage in online sports betting, but Wallach previously told Sports Betting Dime the tribe would likely not risk a sports betting launch until the en banc hearing issue is concluded.

The tribe would not want to raise the ire of the court by launching sports betting if an en banc hearing is still being considered, he said.