The citizens group No Casinos Inc. has filed its amicus brief in the Florida Supreme Court challenge of the state’s sports betting compact with the Seminole Nation.
The group successfully petitioned to file the brief in the case based on its role in passing Amendment 3, the state law putting the power of gambling expansion in the hands of the voters.
In its brief, No Casinos did not hold back about its disapproval of the compact’s “hub and spoke” approach to online gambling that defines the location of an online bet as where the served that hosts the action is located.
“Indeed, the ‘hub and spoke’ rationale for the Compact and the Implementing Law—’deeming’ such gambling to be on Tribal land simply because computer servers are located there—is so transparently false and outcome-driven that it is disrespectful to the Florida Constitution, as the organic and superior law of this State, and disrespectful to the voters who spoke unequivocally in favor of Amendment 3 in 2018,” the brief read.
No Casinos also pointed out that the narrow ruling at the federal level very much opened the door for the state court to assess the hub and spoke argument. Moreover, the brief cited Monterra MF LLC v Haaland, noting where Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland herself wrote:
“If a bet is placed within Florida but outside the confines of the Tribe’s Indian lands, the bet occurs outside of Indian lands and must be authorized by state law, rather than IGRA.”
The brief went on to highlight the efforts to pass Amendment 3 and how those efforts made it abundantly clear what voters were endorsing, which was that gambling expansion could not occur without a voter referendum.
“It is nothing new that gambling, with certain exceptions, is against Florida’s public policy. This is codified in this State’s laws, holding gambling, with certain exceptions, to be a crime in Florida,” the brief stated.
The next step in the state court case is for the state and Gov. Ron DeSantis to file a response, which should come sometime next month.
