Ongoing Legal Fights Won't Deter Seminoles From Launching In-Person Sports Betting

The complicated legal sports betting story in the state of Florida is about to write another chapter. On Wednesday, the Seminole Trible announced that they will be going forward with in-person, retail sports betting at its casinos, starting next month. It's a move that would leave our best sportsbooks on the outside.

As Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming, and chairman of Hard Rock International said: "This is a historic milestone that immediately puts Florida in the same league with the world’s great gaming destinations."

Legal Florida sports betting has been an on-again, off-again situation since Governor Ron DeSantis renegotiated the tribal compact in 2021. That new deal gave the Seminole Tribe the right to launch and regulate not only retail sports betting in the state, but also a more all-encompassing and lucrative mobile sports wagering platform.

Legal hurdles have prevented them from doing so since.

It remains to be seen if online sports betting and the Seminoles' Hard Rock Bet brand will follow the launch of retail. The issue continues to be tied up in litigation and looks as though it will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

More details

Dec. 7 has been flagged as the date that retail sports betting will go live at three Seminole casinos in South Florida. Other Seminole gambling outlets will quickly follow suit from Dec. 7-11.

On Dec. 7, the three affected retail casinos include:

• Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
• Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood
• Seminole Casino Coconut Creek 

On Dec. 8, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa will take its first retail sports wager, and on Dec. 11, bettors in Florida will be able to place a legal sports wager at:

• Seminole Casino Immokalee (near Naples) 
• Seminole Brighton Casino (near Lake Okeechobee) 

In addition to taking legal sports wagers, the Seminole casinos will also expand their offerings to include craps and roulette during the rollout of their sports wagering plans.

A statement Wednesday, Nov. 1, by Marcellus Osceola Jr., chairman of the Seminole tribe read: "The Seminole Tribe thanks the State of Florida, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Department of Justice for defending our Compact. By working together, the Tribe, the State and the federal government achieved a historic legal victory."

The fate of mobile sports betting in Florida

As it stands, the Seminole Tribe has basically withstood most legal hurdles that it has been faced with since renegotiating its compact back in 2021. That includes the most recent challenge by pari-mutuel companies West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., owners of Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Card Room. 

They have been arguing against the merits of the $2.5 billion compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe, who hold a virtual monopoly of the gambling industry in Florida.

The latest court battle resulted in a stay in a ruling that upheld a gambling compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe. The Supreme Court ruling put on hold the Seminoles ability to launch Florida sports betting apps, at least for now.

It has been a long two-year battle for mobile sports betting under the Seminole umbrella and one that doesn't appear to have been resolved with the announcement of the launch of retail sports betting in the Sunshine State.

Will retail pave the way for mobile?

The announcement of a retail sports betting launch in Florida is good news for 21.5 million Florida residents, and the two MLB teams, two NBA teams, two NHL teams, two Major League Soccer teams and 13 NCAA Division I college teams that call Florida home; however, it remains to be seen if the Seminole Tribe will attempt to seize on retail momentum and launch a mobile wing.

In November 2021, the Hard Rock mobile app was launched and active for 34 days in the Florida market, only to be forced to shut down after the courts intervened.

You can bet that the Seminoles will gain assurances the next time they launch mobile sports betting that their efforts won’t be in vain.