For a moment, it seemed like all bets were on. Then, they were off. Now, it seems like the Seminole Tribe will be forced to wait for at least a few weeks before it can relaunch Hard Rock Bet in Florida.
Movement in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals was anticipated on Monday and could have paved the way for Hard Rock Bet to go live in the Sunshine State this week. As of Thursday, there has still been no court filing, leading to further delays in the drawn-out legal process.
West Flagler and Associates, the group leading the case against The Seminole Tribe and the Department of Interior, had filed a motion of stay against the launch of Hard Rock Bet and the compact the tribe struck with Governor Ron DeSantis.
The DOI has until September 25 to respond to the motion, after which West Flagler has an additional period in which to respond once more. The motion of stay would lead to a 90-day delay to the launch of sports betting.
Should the motion be denied, which is the general consensus among legal experts in the sports betting space, then West Flagler could take the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which could lead to a delay of months, if not years.
The SCOTUS picks and chooses the cases it wishes to hear and the process could be drawn out over years, or the case may never be heard at all.
In the interim, the Seminole Tribe has not been able to launch Hard Rock Bet, despite teasing Florida customers on X, formerly known as Twitter.
It has released no further statements after the DC Circuit Court denied West Flagler an en banc announcement last week.
It stated: “The Seminole Tribe of Florida is pleased with today’s denial of the request for an en banc hearing by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.”
