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Source/Full Story - GamingAmerica
Robert Jarvis, Professor of Law at Florida's Nova Southeastern University, breaks down the legal proceedings and
future possibilities of the Seminole Sports Betting compact in Florida.
How would you explain the Florida Sports Betting saga to someone who knows nothing about it?
In 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and made Sports Betting illegal.
In 2018, the US Supreme Court found that this was unconstitutional. During the 25 years between the passage and the
striking down of PASPA, Americans’ views on gambling – and Sports Betting in particular – have changed. State governments
discovered gambling was a good source of revenue. Sports leagues, which had been against gambling because of the Black Sox
scandal, changed their views because they needed new sources of revenue. When the Supreme Court struck down PASPA, that
set off a feeding frenzy. Today, 75% of states have authorized Sports Betting. Ironically, there are three very big states that haven't.
California Tribes can’t get on the same page, and the 2022 ballot initiative failed. The Texas State Constitution prohibits basically all
forms of gambling, and Texas has a Governor who is very opposed to Sports Betting, so things would have to change in Texas.
Florida clearly wants to have Sports Betting and it’s going to be an enormous entry into the market. In 2021,
the Seminoles went to the State of Florida and said, “We already have gambling. Let us have Sports Betting, craps
and roulette. The State of Florida said fine. This one pari-mutuel – owned by the Havenick family behind West Flagler Associates –
had been in dog racing for generations and decided to challenge the Seminoles. Why is difficult to say. They never had any chance
to win in the courts. The only chance they had was to burn money; and they have, at this point, nothing to show for it.
Since 2021, West Flagler Associates has been fighting. The first lawsuit was filed in a Florida federal court and was quickly
dismissed. The second lawsuit was filed in Washington DC, because Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, was named as
the defendant. West Flagler got very lucky that they drew Judge Friedrich, who had worked on Orrin Hatch’s Senate. Hatch
was a very conservative senator from Utah, very against gambling. It is thought that her views on gambling were shaped by
time on Hatch’s staff. Judge Friedrich found that the Seminole/State of Florida gambling compact was a violation of the 1988
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and she struck it down. Her opinion was a shock and completely nonsensical. If it had
been turned into a law professor like me as a paper, it would have gotten an F.
Do you think Judge Friedrich’s views on gambling caused her to shoot it down, rather than the wording
of IGRA or the case put forward by West Flagler?
I can only point to the fact that she, as an unelected judge not in Florida, had the power to say, “I understand that
the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe have agreed to this, and the voters could have always struck it down.”
But instead, she said, “I know better.” That’s a pretty amazing thing. When the DC Circuit got hold of Judge Friedrich’s
opinion, they did give it an F. They unanimously overruled it. West Flagler, not willing to give up, asked the DC Circuit to
reinstate Judge Friedrich’s opinion. The entire DC Circuit – 11 judges – said, “We’re not going to give you the time of day; move on.”
The first thing a client wants to know is: how much is this going to cost? The second thing is: are we going to win?
If you said, “this is going to cost boatloads of money, and at the end of the day you’re going to lose,” most clients
would walk out the door. Instead, West Flagler said, “We have the chance to spend tons of money and lose? Sign us up.
” Having lost at the DC Circuit, West Flagler went to the US Supreme Court and asked to prevent the Seminoles from starting
up Sports Betting. The US Supreme Court turned them down. Now, West Flagler has asked the US Supreme Court for an extension
on its petition for certiorari – a request that the US Supreme Court review what a lower court has done. The US Supreme Court will
grant certiorari if either there is a conflict between two or more federal appellate courts (there is no conflict here) or if the issue is of national importance.
To start a lawsuit in Florida, you go to a Circuit Court, then go up to our District Court and then maybe to the Florida Supreme Court.
West Flagler decided to jump the line and go directly to the Florida Supreme Court. I predict that next spring the Florida Supreme
Court will send this to Leon County Circuit Court. Whenever the Florida Supreme Court gets the case, though, it will find that the
Florida Constitution is not violated by the Seminoles having sports gambling.
Robert Jarvis, Professor of Law at Florida's Nova Southeastern University, breaks down the legal proceedings and
future possibilities of the Seminole Sports Betting compact in Florida.
How would you explain the Florida Sports Betting saga to someone who knows nothing about it?
In 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and made Sports Betting illegal.
In 2018, the US Supreme Court found that this was unconstitutional. During the 25 years between the passage and the
striking down of PASPA, Americans’ views on gambling – and Sports Betting in particular – have changed. State governments
discovered gambling was a good source of revenue. Sports leagues, which had been against gambling because of the Black Sox
scandal, changed their views because they needed new sources of revenue. When the Supreme Court struck down PASPA, that
set off a feeding frenzy. Today, 75% of states have authorized Sports Betting. Ironically, there are three very big states that haven't.
California Tribes can’t get on the same page, and the 2022 ballot initiative failed. The Texas State Constitution prohibits basically all
forms of gambling, and Texas has a Governor who is very opposed to Sports Betting, so things would have to change in Texas.
Florida clearly wants to have Sports Betting and it’s going to be an enormous entry into the market. In 2021,
the Seminoles went to the State of Florida and said, “We already have gambling. Let us have Sports Betting, craps
and roulette. The State of Florida said fine. This one pari-mutuel – owned by the Havenick family behind West Flagler Associates –
had been in dog racing for generations and decided to challenge the Seminoles. Why is difficult to say. They never had any chance
to win in the courts. The only chance they had was to burn money; and they have, at this point, nothing to show for it.
Since 2021, West Flagler Associates has been fighting. The first lawsuit was filed in a Florida federal court and was quickly
dismissed. The second lawsuit was filed in Washington DC, because Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, was named as
the defendant. West Flagler got very lucky that they drew Judge Friedrich, who had worked on Orrin Hatch’s Senate. Hatch
was a very conservative senator from Utah, very against gambling. It is thought that her views on gambling were shaped by
time on Hatch’s staff. Judge Friedrich found that the Seminole/State of Florida gambling compact was a violation of the 1988
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and she struck it down. Her opinion was a shock and completely nonsensical. If it had
been turned into a law professor like me as a paper, it would have gotten an F.
Do you think Judge Friedrich’s views on gambling caused her to shoot it down, rather than the wording
of IGRA or the case put forward by West Flagler?
I can only point to the fact that she, as an unelected judge not in Florida, had the power to say, “I understand that
the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe have agreed to this, and the voters could have always struck it down.”
But instead, she said, “I know better.” That’s a pretty amazing thing. When the DC Circuit got hold of Judge Friedrich’s
opinion, they did give it an F. They unanimously overruled it. West Flagler, not willing to give up, asked the DC Circuit to
reinstate Judge Friedrich’s opinion. The entire DC Circuit – 11 judges – said, “We’re not going to give you the time of day; move on.”
The first thing a client wants to know is: how much is this going to cost? The second thing is: are we going to win?
If you said, “this is going to cost boatloads of money, and at the end of the day you’re going to lose,” most clients
would walk out the door. Instead, West Flagler said, “We have the chance to spend tons of money and lose? Sign us up.
” Having lost at the DC Circuit, West Flagler went to the US Supreme Court and asked to prevent the Seminoles from starting
up Sports Betting. The US Supreme Court turned them down. Now, West Flagler has asked the US Supreme Court for an extension
on its petition for certiorari – a request that the US Supreme Court review what a lower court has done. The US Supreme Court will
grant certiorari if either there is a conflict between two or more federal appellate courts (there is no conflict here) or if the issue is of national importance.
To start a lawsuit in Florida, you go to a Circuit Court, then go up to our District Court and then maybe to the Florida Supreme Court.
West Flagler decided to jump the line and go directly to the Florida Supreme Court. I predict that next spring the Florida Supreme
Court will send this to Leon County Circuit Court. Whenever the Florida Supreme Court gets the case, though, it will find that the
Florida Constitution is not violated by the Seminoles having sports gambling.
