A big win for betting

Hard Rock Bet could relaunch sports betting in Florida as soon as Monday after the US Court of Appeals denied an en banc rehearing petition.

The topic of legal sports betting has been a contentious one for some time in Florida. Hard Rock Bet went live with retail and online sportsbooks in 2021 but had to shut them down after just a few weeks. This was due to a legal challenge posed against the gaming compact signed by Hard Rock International owner, the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

rare for the DC Circuit Court to grant an en banc hearing

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia subsequently decided to restore the gaming compact and has now denied a petition from West Flagler Associates, the operator of a poker room in South Florida, to have an en banc rehearing. It is rare for the DC Circuit Court to grant an en banc hearing, having not done so since 2021.

The court ruled on Monday that the reasons given by West Flagler did not warrant a rehearing:

Relaunch on the horizon

West Flagler will have 90 days to request a writ of certiorari to have a US Supreme Court case hearing. It also can decide to take the case to the Florida court system.

It would become the most populated US state with legal sports betting

In the meantime, the issuance of an official mandate restoring the gaming compact will come on Monday, seven days after the ruling. The mandate is effective when issued, which could mean a potential relaunch on Monday for Hard Rock Bet in Florida. It would become the most populated US state with legal sports betting.

The tribe has not confirmed whether it intends to relaunch but did welcome the ruling on Monday. Hard Rock Bet confirmed the news in a playful manner on X:

A long-running battle

The state gaming compact signed in 2021 meant that the Seminole Tribe had the exclusive right to offer state-wide online and retail sports betting. It also gave the tribe the ability to expand its gaming operations to allow its casinos to offer craps and roulette.

the servers processing the online wagers were located on tribal land

Sports betting launched in Florida, lasting for a matter of weeks before US District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich declared in November 2021 that the compact was in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) which dictates tribal gaming needs to take place on tribal land. The Seminole Tribe’s argument was that the compact was valid because the servers processing the online wagers were located on tribal land.

An appeals court three-judge panel disagreed with Judge Friedrich’s ruling in June, arguing that the IGRA does not prohibit any gaming compact from covering other matters, including the governing of certain gambling activities outside of tribal lands.