Seminole Hard Rock’s Position as Florida’s Only Sportsbook is Secure

The sports betting situation in Florida is both simple and complex. On one hand, you have a state run by conservative Republicans who don’t exactly love the idea of sports betting and gambling in their state. Many believe that it brings degeneracy and problems. However, it is hard to deny the fact that sports betting has a very low risk of developing into a problem for an individual. The figure is only around 1% of sports bettors will develop into “problem gamblers”. If you look at other so-called “vices”, they are much higher. A full 29% of alcohol drinkers are “excessive drinkers” and 10% are considered alcoholics.

It may be these reason above that Florida has allowed legal sports betting within its territory. However, the state has assigned sports betting rights to only one company, Seminole Hard Rock. This tribe in Florida has all rights to sports betting within the state. The only exception are gambling cruise liners that travel out to international waters and allow its passengers to gambling on slots, table games, and kiosks that handle sports bets.

The battle for the right to offer sports betting actually caused the Florida Supreme Court to put a hold on the activity a few years ago while they determined if there was a legitimate case to be made to open licenses up to other companies. West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation both sued to have the same rights as Seminole Hard Rock and lost. They then took their case to the Federal Supreme Court.

On Monday, their fates were sealed as all but one Justice decided that there weren’t grounds for a case. Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the lone dissenting voice. However, it takes at least four judges to move forward, so the case was dead in the water, as they say.

“The Seminole Tribe of Florida applauds today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to decline consideration of the case involving the Tribe’s Gaming Compact with the State of Florida,” Gary Bitner, a spokesperson for the tribe, told the Sun Sentinel on Monday. “It means members of the Seminole Tribe and all Floridians can count on a bright future made possible by the Compact.”

The deal between the state of Florida and Seminole Hard Rock is a 30 year pact.