Seminole Tribe Responds to Florida Sports Betting Rehearing

• The Seminole Tribe filed their response to the request for an en banc rehearing.
• A court-ordered response was issued for Thursday and the Seminole Tribe fulfilled the request.
• The Seminole Tribe’s stance against rehearing is that there’s no “exceptional importance.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Thursday marked another step towards legal sports betting returning to Florida, as the Seminole Tribe filed their response to the rehearing request filed by West Flagler Associates.

West Flagler is doing all they can to prevent legal sports betting from returning to the Sunshine State. However, the Seminole Tribe made a stand in their court ordered response, claiming that there’s no “exceptional importance” to rehear the ruling.

The ruling in question overturned a ban of the 2021 Gaming Compact between the Seminole Tribe and Florida, permitting legal Florida sports betting throughout the state.

However, it’s unlikely for unanimous rulings to receive a rehearing en banc. En banc hearings require approval by majority of 11 circuit court judges.

According to the grounds for rehearing established by the US Court of Appeals, one or more of the following situations must exist.

• A material factual or legal matter was overlooked in the decision;
• A change in the law occurred after the case was submitted and was overlooked by the panel;
• The opinion is in conflict with a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, this court, or another court of appeals and the conflict is not addressed in the opinion
• The proceeding involves one or more questions of exceptional importance.

The ground that West Flagler Associates is arguing for in their rehearing request – and the Seminole Tribe is arguing against in their response– is that this proceeding has “exceptional importance.”

Will the Florida Rehearing Request be Granted or Denied?

Daniel Wallach, gaming law attorney and founder of Wallach Legal, wrote in an article that “the odds are slim that rehearing will be granted.”

It’s been over two years since one of the frequently submitted en banc hearing requests was granted. However, a decision could be made within 24 hours, weeks, or months; nobody knows.

For that reason, legal NFL betting is unlikely for Week 1 kicking off on Thursday. The Seminole Tribe is very likely to wait out the court’s decision before relaunching the Hard Rock Bet app.

News tags: Daniel Wallach | Florida | Hard Rock Bet | NFL | Seminole Tribe | West Flagler Associates