A lengthy legal dispute over whether the Seminole Tribe of Florida should hold exclusive rights to online sports betting in Florida resulted in an agreement this week designed to avoid future litigation.
The Seminoles, West Flagler Associates, and the Bonita Fort Myers Corp. reached a deal that puts an end to the legal wrangling and creates a partnership that allows Jai Alai waging on the tribe’s Hard Rock Bet app.
“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,” Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen said in a statement.
The agreement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court this summer declined to consider a lawsuit from the companies challenging the gambling compact reached in 2021 between the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe.
The high court upheld a federal appeals court ruling that let the compact stand. A lower court judge had sided with those challenging the compact that said it was illegal under federal law to let the tribe operate a statewide mobile application that offered sports betting.
–Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix
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