- After years of legal activity, the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler have come to an agreement to end any and all legal challenges to Florida gaming
- In exchange for West Flagler agreeing to refrain from any future legal challenges, Hard Rock Bet will offer West Flagler brand jai alai on its app
- It puts an end to at least three years of legal disputes between the two parties regarding Florida sports betting and gambling
The long, difficult, and at times incredibly weird legal Florida gaming challenges between the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler Associates finally appear to be over.
The Seminole Tribe announced this afternoon that the tribe and West Flagler Associates entered into an agreement that saw West Flagler agreeing to never again challenge the tribe’s gaming operations, including online sports betting, in Florida in exchange for Hard Rock Bet to offer and promote betting on Battle Court Jai Alai, an affiliate of West Flagler, on its app.
The parties anticipate that Hard Rock Bet will launch jai alai betting on its app in early 2025.
Deal Between the Two Parties
The agreement puts an end to years of legal disputes at the state, federal, and Supreme Court level between the two parties.
“This is truly a win-win agreement for the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler. This agreement establishes a relationship of collaboration among the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler in the State of Florida. Rather than engaging in years of additional litigation, this agreement will allow the parties to work together to promote Jai Alai, which has played an important role in Florida’s gaming landscape for nearly 100 years,” Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming, said in a press release.
The end of the legal road came for West Flagler earlier this year, when U.S. Supreme Court officially denied West Flagler’s writ of certiorari request to hear its Florida online sports betting case.
West Flagler still had the option to bring the matter back to the state courts, but has officially declared they will not with this deal.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Seminole Tribe in support of their gaming operations in Florida and to promote Jai Alai, which has been a critical component of Florida’s gaming industry since the 1920s. We are proud that Jai Alai will be featured on the Hard Rock Bet app and we look forward to developing a strong partnership with the Seminole Tribe,” Isadore Havenick of West Flagler noted in a release.
End to Years of Legal Wrangling
West Flagler and the U.S. Department of Interior have been involved in legal wrangling since the tribe’s 2021 gaming compact approval. The 30-year gaming compact between the tribe and state grants exclusive in person and online sports betting to the Seminole Tribe, as well as the right to offer craps and roulette at its casinos. In exchange, the Seminole Tribe makes annual payments of at least $500 million a year to the state.
The gaming compact will run through 2051 and will likely allow the tribe to legalize iGaming within the next several years through the same process it legalized online sports betting.
West Flagler challenged the compact at a number of different levels, with the courts widely agreeing with U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland’s decision to authorize the gaming compact.
In its writ of certiorari to have the case heard by the Supreme Court, West Flagler contended that Haaland should never have been able to approve a compact that allows for gaming to take place off Indian lands. Additionally, West Flagler believes the compact violated the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and grants a monopoly to the Seminole Tribe in violation of equal-protection principles.
Counsel for the DOI asserted that the D.C. Circuit Court’s interpretation of the gaming compact between the state and Seminole Tribe that authorizes online sports betting only on tribal lands and does not authorize betting located outside tribal land is correct, and consistent, with IGRA.
The DOI counsel argued there is no reason that a Tribal-State compact that authorizes gaming activities on Indian lands under IGRA cannot also include provisions negotiated between the tribe and state that authorizes gaming activities in the state on non-Indian lands.
After months of negotiations, the Seminole Tribe of Florida and West Flagler Associates have reached a gaming agreement that will have significant implications for the state’s gaming industry. The agreement, which was announced on Tuesday, includes provisions for the construction of a new casino in Miami-Dade County, as well as the expansion of existing gaming facilities owned by the Seminole Tribe.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Seminole Tribe will be allowed to operate a new casino on land owned by West Flagler Associates near Miami International Airport. The new casino is expected to feature a wide range of gaming options, including slot machines, table games, and poker rooms. In addition, the Seminole Tribe will be able to expand its existing gaming facilities in Hollywood and Tampa, allowing for the addition of new gaming options and amenities.
In exchange for these concessions, the Seminole Tribe has agreed to pay the state of Florida a significant amount of revenue from its gaming operations. This revenue will be used to fund various state programs and initiatives, including education and healthcare.
The agreement between the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler Associates comes after years of legal battles and negotiations over the regulation of gaming in Florida. The state has long struggled to find a balance between allowing for the expansion of gaming facilities and protecting the interests of existing operators.
With this new agreement in place, it is expected that the Seminole Tribe will be able to significantly expand its presence in the Florida gaming market. This could have a major impact on the state’s economy, as well as on the overall landscape of the gaming industry in Florida.
Overall, the agreement between the Seminole Tribe and West Flagler Associates represents a significant milestone in the ongoing evolution of the Florida gaming industry. It will be interesting to see how this agreement plays out in the coming months and years, and what impact it will have on the state’s economy and gaming landscape.
