Supreme Court Denies Stay in Florida Sports Betting Case

• The US Supreme Court denied West Flagler’s request to stay the Florida sports betting mandate while they pursue a rehearing.
• The stay denial makes it more unlikely that the US Supreme Court will grant a rehearing.
• A key comment from Justice Brett Kavanaugh improves West Flagler’s case in the Florida Supreme Court.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida sports betting earned a win in the US Supreme Court with the denial of West Flagler’s stay request. With the denial, the D.C. Circuit Court’s mandate restoring the 2021 Florida Gaming Compact is back in effect.

Technically, there’s nothing stopping legal sports betting from returning to the Sunshine State with the Supreme Court’s denial. If the US Supreme Court decided to grant a stay, a Florida sports betting relaunch wouldn’t be possible until resolved.

Could The Supreme Court Issue A Rehearing?

The denial of stay is a massive step towards a Florida sports betting relaunch because of the criteria required to stay a mandate. Since legal Florida sports betting cleared that hurdle, it’s unlikely the Supreme Court rehears the case.

In order for the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to grant stay, at least four of the judges needed to be convinced it’s significant enough for rehearing. That doesn’t mean that SCOTUS won’t grant West Flagler’s writ of certiorari (rehearing request), but it makes it highly unlikely.

However, one of the Supreme Court justices raised concerns that are relevant to the Florida Supreme Court battle.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh Gives West Flagler Ammunition

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh issued his own statement separate from the stay denial. His comment pertaining to the legal online sportsbooks violating the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) help West Flagler’s case at the state level.

“If the compact authorized the Tribe to conduct off-reservation gaming operations, either directly by deeming off-reservation gaming operations to somehow be on-reservation, then the compact would likely violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, as the District Court explained,” said Kavanaugh.

This is currently a topic of discussion in the Florida Supreme Court battle between West Flagler and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. As expected, West Flagler notified the court of Kavanaugh’s statement.

West Flagler notifies the Fla. Sup. Ct. of Justice Kavanaugh’s statement that the Compact’s deeming of off-reservation gaming “to somehow be on-reservation” violates IGRA. The objective? To negate the A3 exception for casino gambling on tribal lands via an IGRA-compliant compact. pic.twitter.com/59YbAgrfeO

— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) October 27, 2023

Although denying stay was a big step in the right direction, a potential relaunch of Florida sports betting is undetermined. An official denial of West Flagler’s request to rehear the case could influence Florida sports betting to relaunch immediately.

News tags: Brett Kavanaugh | Florida | Ron DeSantis | Seminole Tribe | West Flagler