West Flagler has initiated a legal challenge against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the state legislature following the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI) opposition to West Flagler's motion to stay. This motion is part of West Flagler's ongoing effort to keep the Hard Rock Bet from operating while it prepares to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The challenge asserts that DeSantis overstepped his authority in 2021 when he approved a compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. DeSantis sanctioned the compact in April 2021 and subsequently signed it into law in May. This agreement gave the Seminoles exclusive rights to offer both online and in-person sports betting across the state.
However, a judge from the District of Columbia ruled in November 2021 that the compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), thereby nullifying the agreement.
West Flagler contends that the Florida legislature also exceeded its powers by enacting the legislation tied to the compact. According to their filing, it effectively overturned Florida's existing prohibition on sports betting, but only for the Tribe, its patrons, and certain participating pari-mutuel facilities.
Central to West Flagler's case is Article X, Section 30 of Florida's Constitution. This provision was added after voters approved it in 2018 and asserts that casino gambling in Florida can only be legalized through a state ballot.
The text of Article X, Section 30 states, "This amendment ensures that Florida voters shall have the exclusive right to decide whether to authorise casino gambling in the State of Florida… This section amends this article; and also affects article XI, by making citizens’ initiatives the exclusive method of authorising casino gambling."
West Flagler argues that DeSantis's approval and the legislature's enactment of the 2021 compact amount to an unauthorized expansion of casino gambling in Florida, contravening Article X, Section 30 due to the absence of a voter-approved amendment.
The filing reads, "The 2021 Compact and Implementing Law are a clear expansion of casino gambling in Florida without a voter-approved constitutional amendment by citizens’ initiative, as required by Article X, Section 30. In so doing, the respondents have exceeded their authority in direct violation of the Florida Constitution. This abuse of authority warrants this court’s review and correction."
This move by West Flagler could be their final opportunity to prevent the Seminoles from launching Hard Rock Bet, a conflict that began in December 2021. The tension escalated in June when West Flagler and Bonita-Fort Myers lost a lawsuit against Debra Haaland, which alleged she mishandled the 2021 compact under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by allowing it to become law after the 45-day deadline.
Last month, West Flagler sought a rehearing in that case, but the DOI rebuffed their petition, and the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately rejected it in September.
