“Whatever the tribe and Florida - who are not parties to this litigation - may believe, let us be clear: An IGRA compact cannot provide independent legal authority for gaming activity that occurs outside of Indian lands, where that activity would otherwise violate state law,” the court said. In its decision Friday, the court emphasized that the ruling was “narrow” and, if the compact were to be found violating state law by authorizing gambling outside tribal lands, the federal government would have to reject the agreement. In addition to allowing for the potential operation of sports betting outside of tribal land, the compact also allows both Trump National Doral Resort and the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach to obtain casino permits without violating the tribe’s monopoly status.

“The will of the people will be respected, and the Florida Constitution requires that Florida voters have the final word on gambling authorization,” Sowinski of No Casinos said. West Flagler argued that Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, whose agency oversees tribal gambling, erred when she allowed the deal to go forward. In 2018, voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 3, a constitutional amendment prohibiting the expansion of gambling in Florida without voter approval. To get around a Florida constitutional amendment, the agreement required the tribe to operate a so-called hub-and-spoke model for sports betting, which moves all online sports bets from players located in Florida but outside of tribal lands through the tribe’s servers. The challenge was brought by West Flagler Associates, the former owner of Magic City Casino and current owner of Bonita Springs Poker Room, which argued that the tribe’s sports betting and casino expansion deal violated federal Indian gaming law. District Court in the District of Columbia that invalidated the deal negotiated between the tribe and Gov. The court reversed a November 2021 decision by Judge Dabney L. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously concluded that federal gaming law allowed the state to enter into a 30-year agreement with the Seminole Tribe to control sports betting in Florida, add roulette and craps to the tribe’s casino operations and in return pay the state at least $2.5 billion over the first five years of the deal.

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