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This legal battle is never going to end, is it? For a while now, much of the focus on Florida sports betting news has been the issues with the West Flagler Associates- also known as the owners of the Magic City Casino. They’ve been doing everything possible to try and get legal betting in the state shut down for good. They were successful in 2021, but what’s to come down the road? Well, the Florida sports betting case has now reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which could be trouble.
Recently, the Florida Supreme Court sided with Governor Ron DeSantis and The Seminole Tribe in this lawsuit. Because of that, legal sports betting in Florida, which was relaunched in the winter, is now set to keep on going strong. However, with the West Flagler Associated now filing things in the U.S. Supreme Court, we may have to wait a little bit longer to see if Florida sports betting is fully in the clear or not.
“Among other forms of gaming, the compact authorizes mobile sports betting by which participants may play sports wagers with the Seminole Tribe through a mobile device,” the Florida Supreme Court said as part of its decision. “Participants may be physically located anywhere in Florida when they place a wager, not only on tribal lands. Then, regardless of where the bets are placed, the wagers are ‘deemed’ to occur on tribal lands.”
Things took a while in the Florida Supreme Court, so now it’s unknown what kind of a timeline we can expect from the U.S. Supreme Court. The good news here is that betting hasn’t been shut down until a final call is made and sportsbooks are still able to operate their normal day-to-day business. However, things could change down the road. Everything is a bit uncertain, but the West Flagler Associates are doing everything possible to try and get this decision in their favor.
Florida sports betting numbers have been high despite the uncertainty
With all of that said, Florida sports betting numbers have been high despite the uncertainty surrounding things. While people are worried that legal wagers could come to an end again, that hasn’t stopped folks from getting their bets in. The sports betting handle in recent months has been fantastic, with the NFL Draft, MLB betting and the NBA postseason helping things continue to be high.
With the NFL Draft, people in Florida were focused on who the Dolphins, Buccaneers and Jaguars would be bringing in during the seven-round event. Not only that, but free agency was also quite exciting, particularly for Miami. The Dolphins were able to land Jordan Poyer, who previously played with the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills. On top of that, the Dolphins recently got things done with Odell Beckham Jr. as well. Beckham is fired up to make plays for head coach Mike McDaniel.
media day. 🐬🌊🌴 pic.twitter.com/B5G61c568s
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) May 15, 2024
As for MLB betting, the Marlins are struggling once again in the NL East, but the Tampa Bay Rays are having much more success in the AL East. While the Yankees and Orioles are at the top of the division, the Rays are hoping to keep things interesting and potentially go on a late-season run to make something happen for the postseason. The hope is that the Rays can grab a Wild Card spot and then make some noise. With their starting pitching and great hitting, they could go on to do just that.
Lastly, especially over the last month, the NBA postseason has been a ton of fun to watch. While no Florida teams are still in the hunt, there’s a ton of focus on the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, as they’re the only four teams left with a shot to win it all. Boston still holds the best NBA Finals betting odds, which shouldn’t be a stunner. As we get closer to the Finals too, expect the betting numbers for the NBA action to grow all over the state.
NFL betting could be impacted by the Supreme Court’s decision
In some not-so-great news, there’s worry that NFL betting could be impacted by the Supreme Court’s decision. While the Florida SC sided with the state, the U.S. Supreme Court could end up going the same route as the U.S. District Judge who shut down betting a few years back. That’s a major concern for a lot of people. However, we should hopefully know by the summer what ends up happening.
Big guys coming through 😤 pic.twitter.com/kIHWlfOmRZ
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) May 21, 2024
While the U.S. Supreme Court is in no rush to make a call, you’d have to imagine they’re going to want to get things finalized by the time the fall arrives. For Florida, legal sports betting for the NFL and college football season will be massive. This is supposed to be the first full football campaign where people are going to be able to place their bets from Week 1 until the end of the postseason. However, with things in limbo, we can’t know for sure if that’s going to happen or not for Florida bettors.
