Federal Judge Throws Out Florida Sports Betting Compact With Seminole Tribe

By Ted Scouten, CBS Miami

November 24, 2021

A federal judge has handed Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida a sizable defeat by overturning the state’s gambling compact. The ruling late Monday by Judge Dabney L. Friedrich struck down the state’s $2.5 billion deal with the tribe and brought an end to online sports betting in Florida.

Judge Friedrich ruled the gambling compact violated federal Indian gaming law and invalidated the entire agreement.

The tribe’s online sports betting quietly launched on Nov. 1, under a so-called hub and spoke design, which means the Tribe could take bets from any phone or laptop anywhere under the theory it was legal because the servers are located on tribal lands.

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