An anti-gambling voice wants to have its voice heard in the Florida Supreme Court case challenging the state’s sports betting compact.
The group No Casinos, Inc. has petitioned the court to file an amicus brief in West Flagler’s case against Gov. Ron DeSantis in the state. No Casinos was the nonprofit group behind a number of anti-gambling ballot initiatives in the state, including the successful ballot measure for Amendment 3.
Amendment 3 put the power of gambling expansion in the state squarely in the hands of voters instead of the state legislature and gambling expansion now needs to be done via ballot referendum.
During the campaign for Amendment 3, it was actually the plaintiff in this case, West Flagler and Associates, who were the biggest donors in the oppositional campaign. The group provided over $1.6 million trying to defeat the measure.
The motion from No Casinos acknowledged the divergent interests of their group and the plaintiffs:
“The proposed amicus curiae brief will endeavor not to be redundant of the Petition, nor will it expand the core issue to be decided by this Court. What it will do is provide the perspective of a coalition of opponents of expanded gambling within the State of Florida, which Petitioners West Flagler Associates, Ltd. and Bonita Springs cannot do in the same manner, because they are themselves gambling entities, admitted ‘competitors of the Tribe’ who fear economic harm because expanded sports betting will ‘negatively impact both poker and parimutuel revenues.’”
No Casinos is challenging the agreement between the Seminole and the state, which would allow for statewide online sports betting, is a violation of Amendment 3.
In addition to seeking to file an amicus brief, No Casinos also requested an extension to file its motion.
The DeSantis legal team responded to the request and opposed the idea of letting the group receive an extension unless DeSantis was also granted extra time to file a response. DeSantis currently has until Nov. 1 to file a response to West Flagler’s complaint.
