Florida online sports betting just resumed after a two-year halt. However, the entity responsible for that stoppage is asking the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) for more time to file a court request. If SCOTUS grants the requested filing extension, West Flagler Associates may eventually want SCOTUS to end Hard Rock Bet‘s monopoly for good.
However, today, Florida’s online sportsbook continues to accept wagers. That’s because, on Friday, the Florida Supreme Court denied West Flagler’s legal attempt to “suspend” betting. In a separate case, on Oct. 25, SCOTUS declined the commercial casino owner’s request to “stay” the then-active halt to sports wagering.
Perhaps because of the complicated nature of the Oct. 25 SCOTUS “stay” denial, West Flagler asked SCOTUS today to move its deadline from Dec. 11 to Feb. 9 to file a “writ of certiorari” with the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
SCOTUS characterizes a “writ of certiorari” as “a request that the Supreme Court order a lower court to send up the record of the case for review.”
In other words, West Flagler Associates vs. Haaland may end up being a SCOTUS case. (US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is named because her office allowed the state tribal gaming compact to go into effect in 2021.)
Meanwhile, retail sportsbooks are scheduled to reopen starting on Dec. 7. The Seminole Tribe of Florida said by Dec. 11, all of the land-based casinos the tribe manages will accept sports bets.
Florida Online Sports Betting’s Short List
In 2021, Florida online sports betting was live for a few weeks.
The West Flagler court actions stopped the wagers. Then, state and federal court decisions allowed bets to resume.
Yet the mobile sportsbook, Hard Rock Bet, was absent from the tribe’s announcement on Nov. 1 about the resumption of retail sports betting.
So it was a bit of a surprise to previous accountholders that they could bet again around Nov. 8.
Also, on Nov. 8, Hard Rock Bet announced it would accept waitlist members who were legacy account holders. Plus, some Unity by Hard Rock loyalty program members were also eligible to join the list.
Beginning on Friday, Hard Rock Bet notified some waitlistees that they could wager.
The tribe still hasn’t publicly announced when it will accept new registrations on Hard Rock Bet in Florida.
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