Feds Get A Little Help From Their Friends In Florida Sports Betting Case

The Seminole Tribe of Florida and the federal government filed their briefs in the litigation over the 2021 Compact between the Tribe and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. A significant group of tribal organizations, including the National Indian Gaming Association and individual tribes filed an amicus curiae brief with the D.C. Court of Appeals.

Amicus brief is a Latin term that means a brief filed by a friend of the court. Amicus briefs are typically filed on behalf of groups that have a similar interest in the outcome of a litigation but are not parties to the case itself. In recent years, the number of amicus Briefs at the Supreme Court has continued to grow.

The groups consulted with the Seminole Tribe of Florida about the possibility of a combined brief. The groups decided it was not possible to combine the two brief and file a single brief on the sports betting case. The brief raises issues that the federal government did not spend a significant amount of time on. It argues that Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed with intent that tribes would be able to offer any game that a state allows.

There are 32 states that have authorized sports betting. Of those states, 24 have tribal lands within their borders. The amicus brief notes that there is a continued desire to expand sports gambling.

The federal government's brief is advancing the argument that compacts authorize off-track betting. The amicus brief does not mention that the Interstate Horseracing Act creates a complex federal regulatory scheme around off track betting, as the brief mentions.

The Court of Appeals could provide a narrow solution to the issue of interstate compacting for internet sports betting. It is not clear that the appeals court will choose to read the District Court’s decision as sufficiently ambiguous to move forward with a Florida sports betting solution.

The District Court's opinion could be read to require that Florida’s authorization for statewide internet sports betting must occur prior to, or independent of, an amendment to Florida's compact with the Seminole Tribe.

The brief will be followed by a response from the federal government to Seminole Tribe’s opening brief seeking to intervene and then a responding brief from West Flagler Associates. The briefing is expected to conclude in November. Oral arguments could take place before the end of the year and the decision could be made within 2023.