Florida Sports Betting Delayed After Rehearing Request

• West Flagler Associates requested a rehearing of the D.C. District Court’s ruling that overturned a ban on Florida sports betting.
• The courts restored a 2021 gaming compact with Florida and the Seminole Tribe, but now are facing opposition from West Flagler.
• A sports betting attorney claims odds are slim the rehearing will be granted.

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida sports betting might not be ready in time for the NFL season after receiving push back from West Flagler Associates. West Flagler submitted a rehearing en banc with the D.C. Circuit in regard to their overturning of the Florida sports betting ban.

En banc means the case goes before 11 circuit court judges if the rehearing is granted. The previous overturned Florida ban was unanimously approved by a three-judge panel on June 30.

The case in question is the 2021 Florida gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe that allowed online sports betting in the Sunshine State through a hub-and-spoke model. West Flagler opposed of the compact shortly after its approval. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ruled that the compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IRGA).

Now, West Flagler’s 63-page rehearing petition utilizes the IRGA and a previous court decision as their basis against legal Florida sports betting to the D.C. Circuit.

Grant for Rehearing Unlikely, Not Over Yet

According to gaming law attorney and founder of Wallach Legal, Daniel Wallach, “the odds are slim that rehearing will be granted. It would be hard to envision the same three-judge panel granting a ‘panel rehearing’ when its ruling was unanimous. Further, petitions for rehearing are ‘rarely granted’ in the D.C. Circuit as a matter of court policy.”

The D.C. Circuit Courts internal procedures confirm this. They claim that “petitions for rehearing en banc are frequently filed but rarely granted.” The last en banc get granted was in May 2021.

West Flagler would need to convince six of the 11 district court judges to rehear the appeal. Three judges unanimously approved the appeal. That means West Flagler will face the difficult task of swaying six of the eight remaining judges.

If denied, West Flagler still has options if the rehearing request. West Flagler has 90 days from the rehearing denial to petition the US Supreme Court to review the Florida sports betting case.

Another option is pursuing the state courts. It’s likely that West Flagler will use all available options to prevent legal sports betting taking place off tribal lands through online sports betting.

It’s unknown if Florida residents will be able to bet on the NFL in a few weeks, or if the legal process could stall sports betting for months.

News tags: Daniel Wallach | Florida | West Flagler Associates