The Seminole Tribe is Going All-In During the Florida Sports Betting Fight

Peter LewisPeter Lewis | October 27, 2022
The Seminole Tribe is Going All-In During the Florida Sports Betting Fight

The drama surrounding legal sports betting for Florida potentially returning won’t stop. Just about every day there’s a new update on how things are going rough in the state’s appeal to have things overturned, but the latest news has plenty of people talking. That updates is that the Seminole Tribe is Going All-In during the Florida sports betting fight. You better believe that the tribes aren’t going to give up on having things changed. And it looks like they have a great shot.

According to a report, The Seminole Tribe continues to provide new evidence that their pact with the state of Florida and Governor Ron DeSantis is 100 percent legal, and that the U.S. District Judge didn’t have the right to rule against them. Not only that, it’s being reported that The Seminole Tribe is also arguing that the online betting options via the Hard Rock Cafe should have never been shut down after it was launched.

This is a key new piece of the fight, as last fall the Hard Rock Cafe did go through with its online betting app for a brief period of time. With this, people in Florida were finally able to make legal wagers in the state, and they 100 percent were checking the NFL betting odds before locking things down on their phones and mobile tablets. With the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in action, people all over Florida were making NFL wagers.

However, shortly after the betting was allowed, the U.S. District Judge forced its closure. The Seminole Tribe is wholeheartedly standing its ground saying the judge didn’t have the right to do that, which is only making its case stronger in this appeal. Florida has been rocked by this sports betting controversy, but legal experts claim that Florida and The Seminole Tribe very well could end up winning this battle. So, what would be the next step if that happens?

Legal sports betting could still be a long way away in Florida

While there’s new-found hope that the new statements from The Seminole Tribe will help them win their appeal, legal sports betting could still be a long way away in Florida. This decision isn’t going to come overnight and there are still several more hearings that need to take place. In a perfect world, we could see things flipped and ruled in favor of the state and the tribe by some point in 2023.

However, it feels like things may end up being delayed here and people could potentially have to wait until 2023. Recently, a casino exec came out and said he thinks legal sports betting for Florida may not come until 2025. If that’s the case and we all have to wait around three years for sports betting to hit the Sunshine State, then people are surely going to go into a bit of a panic mode.

People have been waiting for years for legal betting to arrive. When the mobile app came up last year, folks were rushing to download things through the Hard Rock Cafe and make bets. Not only were people checking NFL betting odds, but they also loved checking out NBA odds, MLB odds and so much more. As soon as the judge ordered the online app to be closed, all the bets stopped and folks were furious.

Now, imagine a world where everything is stopped until 2025. This would be the worst-case scenario, but luckily, the newest updates make it seems like this won’t be happening. Now, though, everyone will be waiting to see if things are good to go by 2023 or 2024. The sooner the better, but it will all come down to what happens with this appeal. If things reach the Supreme Court, then we could have another issue on our hands as well.

Illegal sports bets in Florida are still present

This shouldn’t be news to anyone, but illegal sports bets in Florida are still present with all of this confusion going on. This is why The Seminole Tribe and DeSantis are so adamant to get things corrected as soon as possible. There’s millions and millions of dollars at stake here, with so much money being wagered illegally in the state. Bookies are having their pockets become fuller, while offshore businesses are also taking advantage.

With things not being. regulated, you could argue that this form of illegal activity is at an all-time high. This shouldn’t be the case and people also shouldn’t be forced to travel to outside states to make legal bets. This is why Florida, just like Texas, California and others, are so desperate to have things corrected.

With it being football season, right now would be the perfect time for Florida to receive plenty of revenue on sports betting. Instead, so much money is being lost. The potential for sports betting in Florida is through the roof. It will all come down to this appeal to see if people will be able to make their bets in peace or not. Things are looking promising, but you just never know when it comes to Florida and this sports betting soap opera.

Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis Jr. comes from Mississippi where he and his family spend their days discussing college football and basketball. He's written sports journalism for years after studying journalism at a local university.