AG Ashley Moody Files Brief to Bring FL Sportsbooks Back

• Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a brief to overturn Judge Dabney Friedrich’s decision on online sportsbooks in Florida.
• The matter has been back and forth but the Biden Administration also sent in a call for appeals.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Seminole Tribe of Florida could have authority to begin legal sports betting in Florida again after a call for appeals from the Biden Administration. Last week, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals received a brief looking to change this matter. It stated the secretary has “no duty… nor authority” to stop the gaming compact.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed the 32 page brief, which could bring Florida sports betting back to life.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland as well as West Flagler filed briefs while the Seminole Tribe filed an amicus brief to become the co-defendant.

The Arguments

All of the focus continues to be on the location of the bets taking place. Moody argues that the servers located on tribal grounds show bets being placed there locally. West Flagler think this is a violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which require bets placed in Florida to be on Seminole reservations only.

This has been their stances since last September.

In most cases, sports betting partnerships connect mobile sports betting apps with tribal gaming facilities.

However, the belief is that when the Florida gaming compact adjusted to permit sports betting and casino gaming, it changed the law by ratifying and legislating the 2021 compact. This caused Judge Dabney Friedrich to rule in favor or West Flagler in regards to the IRGA.

The 30-year compact signed last year would have the Seminoles paying $2.5 billion over five years.

While action on the matter brings the case back into light, this back and forth is just continuing. Unless anything changes moving forward, there will be no Florida sportsbooks until 2023-2024.

News tags: Ashley Moody | Dabney Friedrich | Deb Haaland | Florida | Seminole Tribe of Florida | West Flager