Florida Faces New Lawsuit Over Online Sports Betting Legality
A fresh legal battle erupted in Florida as Protect The Constitution, LLC, a Delaware-based group, filed a lawsuit in Tallahassee challenging the state’s online sports betting law.
A Constitutional Clash
The suit, spotlighted by gambling law expert Daniel Wallach, claims the 2021 Seminole Tribe gaming compact violates Florida’s Constitution by allowing statewide online sports betting without voter approval.
The plaintiffs, unnamed Florida businesses under Protect The Constitution, LLC, argue the compact sidesteps Amendment 3, passed by 71% of voters in 2018.
This amendment, under Article X, Section 30, mandates a citizens’ referendum for any casino gambling expansion, including sports betting, outside tribal lands.
The suit alleges the state’s “hub-and-spoke” model, routing bets through tribal servers, is a workaround that denies Floridians their constitutional say.
Core Arguments
The lawsuit zeros in on the 2021 compact, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis and ratified by the legislature, which grants the Seminole Tribe a monopoly on online sports betting via its Hard Rock Bet app.
Protect The Constitution, LLC claims this deal, generating $357 million for Florida from December 2023 to May 2024, illegally expanded gambling without a public vote. The group’s members, all Florida operators, report revenue losses from this unregulated market.
Plaintiffs argue the compact violates Article X, Section 30, which ensures only voters, not state officials, can greenlight gambling expansions. They call the tribal server setup a “transparent artifice” to bypass Amendment 3.
Legal Context
This isn’t the first challenge to the compact. In 2021, West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation sued, alleging violations of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and Amendment 3.
A federal judge initially ruled against the compact, but the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this in 2023. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in June 2024, per igamingbusiness.com. Florida’s Supreme Court dismissed a related 2024 challenge but noted a standard lawsuit, like this one, could test the compact’s constitutionality.
Protect The Constitution, LLC’s suit focuses solely on state law, arguing the legislature overstepped by legalizing off-reservation betting, per Daniel Wallach.
The group seeks to halt the Seminole’s monopoly, which could cost the tribe $2.5 billion in revenue over five years.
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