DeSantis Requests Extension In Florida Sports Wagering Case

Citing a “particularly heavy workload” over the next 14 days, Florida’s attorney general Thursday requested an extension to respond in the state Supreme Court case pitting Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of the legislature against a pair of South Florida parimutuels.

The court has ordered DeSantis to respond to West Flagler and Associates’ (WFA) filing by Nov. 1, and the attorney general is requesting a 30-day extension.

The case brings into question the validity of the 2021 Seminole Tribe-State of Florida compact that would give the tribe a monopoly on retail and digital sports betting in the state. At question is whether DeSantis and the legislature exceeded their powers by approving a compact that includes a hub-and-spoke model. The compact would deem a bet made anywhere in Florida to have been made on Indian lands if it flows through a server on tribal land. Such a model is not in use anywhere else in the U.S.

The case filed with the Florida Supreme Court is one of two that could affect the future of legal sports betting in Florida. WFA also has plans to file in the U.S. Supreme Court and is currently waiting on that court to determine whether a stay preventing the Seminoles from launching their Hard Rock Bet platform will remain in place.

AG: No one seems to be in a hurry

Given that there are two cases pending, it does not appear that the Seminole Tribe has plans to launch until both cases are resolved.

The tribe had a window of time earlier this fall during which it would have been legal to launch, but it opted not to, and sources previously told Sports Handle that the tribe likely doesn’t want to launch only to have to take the platform down. The Seminoles have not commented directly on when they might go live.

In the latest filing, Attorney General Ashley Moody writes that she consulted with WFA on the extension, and that WFA would “agree only to a seven-day extension.” The filing also points out that the compact was approved by the legislature in May 2021 and the U.S. Department of the Interior in September 2021, but that WFA did not file in state Supreme Court until last month.

The parimutuels did begin filing court cases soon after the approval, but chose to do so at that time in Leon County Court and with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The AG also pointed out that the court has already granted at least one extension in the case, when it allowed a group called No Casinos an additional 10 days to file its amicus curaie brief.