DoJ laid out why you should hear Florida wagering case, West Flagler told SCOTUS

WFA argues that the 2021 Florida-Seminole Tribe compact explicitly allows for wagering outside of Indian Country. That allowance, it says, violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Last Week, the DoJ wrote that the validity of the compact isn’t a federal issue and it doesn’t violate IGRA. Further, the DoJ argued that the US Department of the Interior’s (DoI) decision to allow the compact to become "deemed approved” does not violate any laws, state or federal.

WFA Filed A Writ Of Certiorari with the Supreme Court in April. At issue in the Florida wagering case is whether the DoI should have approved a compact that gives the Seminoles exclusivity to online wagering. It also allows the Seminoles to accept a digital bet placed anywhere in the state of Florida. Those bets, according to the compact, are considered placed in Indian Country if they flow through a tribal server.

WFA’s ultimate goal would be either to open the Florida market or shutter the Seminole’s Hard Rock Bet platform. The tribe Launched The Platform in November 2023.

WFA: Appellate court decision in conflict with SCOTUS

Previously, a US District Court judge ruled in favor of WFA, but that decision was overturned by a three-judge panel at the appellate level. WFA appealed for an en banc appellate hearing, but the full court declined to hear the case. Now, the question is whether or not SCOTUS will. That decision is expected as early as next month.

In Tuesday’s filing, WFA lawyer Hamish Hume argues that even though the DoJ believes that the compact doesn’t violate IGRA, its argument for why means SCOTUS should hear the case.