One Florida Lawsuit Down, One To Go As Judge Dismisses Case

• Federal District Judge Allen Winsor ruled in favor of the State Department Secretary Julie Brown and Governor Ron DeSantis in the lawsuit challenging the Florida gaming compact.
• The Joe Biden administration issued the request for the case to be dismissed but there is still one more lawsuit in place challenging the compact.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Governor Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida got a big win for the Florida gaming compact as Federal District Judge Allen Winsor dismisses one of the two lawsuits challenging the compact.

The lawsuit specifically targeted Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Julie Brown for not stopping the compact from being federally recognized.

The results of this suit could affect the other lawsuit that is set to be reviewed on November 5. This is a big win for the Florida sports betting compact.

Big Victory For Florida Compact

Judge Winsor’s reasoning for the dismissal was due to the lawsuit not having any legal standing. The lawsuit was brought on by pari-mutuels who complained of the unfair advantages the Seminole Tribe would gain with online sports betting.

The Joe Biden administration sought a judge to dismiss the case which ultimately led to this ruling. This case was initially supposed to be presented on November 5 alongside the other case.

With the lawsuit focusing on Secretary Brown specifically, the ruling focuses on her potential fault and Judge Winsor deems the lawsuit does not support these claims.

“The pari-mutuels lack standing to sue the governor or the secretary because their actions are not fairly traceable to any alleged harm,” wrote Winsor in the 20-page ruling. “In addition, the requested declaratory and injunctive relief would provide no legal or practical redress to the pari-mutuels’ injuries.”

As Secretary Brown does not have any right to deny the Seminole Tribe’s compact, according to the ruling, then the lawsuit against her has no legal standing.

“They argue that a declaratory judgment would have a cascading effect: a declaration against the state officials that the online sports-betting provisions are illegal would ‘sever’ those provisions from the compact ‘automatically,’ which would then prohibit the tribe from offering online sports betting, which would in turn prevent the pari-mutuels’ impending economic harm,” wrote Winsor.

What Is Next?

Florida sports betting is already regulated under Florida law and Seminole sportsbooks can launch at any time. The lawsuits are likely the reason they have not gone live.

As these lawsuits mainly challenged the Seminole’s ability to offer legal online sports betting in Florida, no mobile apps can launch until the second lawsuit is dealt with.

The Seminole Tribe may be aiming to launch both markets simultaneously, and are awaiting the results of the second lawsuit before they launch at all.

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