Florida sports betting relaunch hit with new delay as court pushes back

The potential relaunch of sports betting in Florida is facing a new delay after the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered a full written response to a petition for a rehearing of the legal case between Florida-based pari-mutuel West Fagler Associates, the Seminole Tribe, and the Department of the Interior (DOI).

In a nod to the potential gravity of the case, the court ordered, upon considering an en banc petition by West Fagler Associates, that the Seminole Tribe, and DOI secretary Debra-Anne Haaland file a written response to the petition, not exceeding 3,900 words.

Under the Court of Appeals’ procedures, the Seminole Tribe and the DOI have 15 days to respond to the order and provide their respective responses to the court.

In June, the three-judge US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with the Seminole Tribe and the DOI, unanimously contending that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) does not prevent the Seminole Tribe from accepting bets remotely.

Although it contended the rule of IGRA over gaming on Indian land, the panel asserted that IGRA did not directly prohibit a tribe from discussing and agreeing compacts to govern gaming off Indian lands, as officials in Florida had agreed with the Seminole Tribe in 2021.

It had been widely expected that the Seminole Tribe would look to relaunch in Florida after the mandatory 45-day waiting period for a response to the court ruling had expired.

However, on the last day of this window, West Fagler’s lawyers filed an en banc petition to have the case reheard, throwing a spanner in these plans.

A recognized legal mechanism in Washington DC, an en banc hearing is a rehearing of a case before all of the judges on the bench, rather than just the three-judge panel as had occurred previously in the initial deliberations of this case.

These rehearings are rarely granted as they place additional demands on the court, and all judges must unanimously agree to proceed before a rehearing can take place.

However, the order seeking a written response from the appellants in this case, the DOI and the Seminole Tribe, seems to suggest the court is giving significant consideration to a potential rehearing.

The 15-day waiting period for the response to the en banc petition throws further doubt on the potential relaunch of the Hard Rock Digital sportsbook in Florida in time for the new NFL season, which kicks off on September 7.

The Seminole Tribe could opt to take bets via its sportsbook while the court considers the petition, but there’s a possibility it could be ordered to close down again once a decision is made.

In addition, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals has said it will not issue its mandate to finalize the appeal decision until seven days after denying the request for rehearing, pushing the Hard Rock relaunch even further into the long grass.