Chris Boline
With the rough news coming in consistently on Florida sports betting, people all over the state haven’t been feeling too optimistic about things changing soon. However, it looks like a miracle could be on the way for all of the proponents. As many of you know, the U.S. District Court shut down Florida sports betting, but things are being heard right now in terms of an appeal. With that, the appeals court is facing a tough decision with Florida sports betting, as people want an answer as soon as possible.
Currently, the appeals court has heard the opening arguments from both sides of the fence here: The Seminole Tribe and Florida, plus their opponents: the owners of the Magic City Casino. Those same owners were the ones who filed their lawsuit to have Florida betting not go through, which is why we’re all in this place right now. The Seminole Tribe agreed to its 30-year pact with Governor Ron DeSantis, with betting supposed to be in full force right now.
However, for about a year, everything has been in limbo and people are left wondering what’s going to happen. With the opening arguments taking place, it has people hoping that perhaps the appeals court will end up ruling in favor of The Seminole Tribe and Florida. If that were to happen, then we very well could end up seeing sports betting in the state in 2023. However, there’s also a chance that things end up going to the Supreme Court.
After the first set of arguments, plenty of legal betting experts believe that things are trending in the right direction for the tribe and Florida to win their appeal. Nothing is set in stone and there are of course a ton of moving pieces still in play, but the fact that things have reached this level sure is promising. Again, it’ll be on the appeals court to make a tough call, but sports betting in Florida could actually happen before you know it.
After today's oral argument, the notion of legal sports betting in Florida as early as 2023 may not be so far-fetched.
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) December 14, 2022
When could sports betting become official in Florida?
With all of these new updates, people all over the state are wondering when could sports betting become official in Florida? That’s a great question and we don’t have an exact answer. That’s what makes this case so interesting. Everyone is waiting on some sort of an official word. If the court rules in favor of Florida, then we could see things relaunched pretty darn quickly in this one.
However, if the decision stays put, then different bills and propositions will need to be drawn up and we might have to wait until 2024 or 2025 for sports betting to be legalized. This is what everyone is fearing, but this appeals court ruling has people bracing for a sooner timeline rather than a later one. Last fall, sports betting was up in running in Florida and we saw the success and potential there.
People rushed to check the NFL betting odds, as people in Florida are always going to have high interest in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars. The bets indeed were raining in, but then Magic City Casino and Co. decided to cut the good time short. Actually, it was the U.S. District Judge who ordered for things to come to a close. Now, we must wait and see how things end up going down.
If sports betting does make a shocking return, which people are keeping their fingers crossed for, then you’re going to see a lot of happy and excited people all over Florida. Folks continue to make their voices heard on social media – especially Twitter – calling for legal bets. Only time will tell how much longer they’ll have to wait.
Wheels 🆙 to Buffalo. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/OcxyWXfdA2
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 16, 2022
Ron DeSantis is closely watching this sports betting decision
With all of this going down, don’t forget that Ron DeSantis is closely watching this sports betting decision in real time. DeSantis won his reelection as Florida governor and he wants to get a lot of things done over the next few years. The expectation is that he’s going to throw his hat in the ring as well for the next U.S. presidential election. If that were to go down, then DeSantis would make the move from Florida to Washington D.C.
When he first reached this agreement with The Seminole Tribe, the plan was for Florida to receive at least $2.5 billion over the first five years of betting. This kind of revenue stream was supposed to work wonders for the state, and help out so many of the different projects and resources in need of cash. That’s been put on halt, though.
With that said, DeSantis is focused on sports betting in Florida before he (if he wins) makes the move up north. There’s a lot of speculation there and no one knows what will go down for him as well. However, sports betting has always been high on his list and he wants to do his best to make something happen. DeSantis is known as a guy who never backs down from a challenge. That’s what’s going down here in his chase for Florida sports betting.
