Seminole Tribe to launch sports betting in Florida in December

The Seminole Tribe of Florida announced it will be launching sports betting at its casinos in the Sunshine State in December, a week after the Supreme Court cleared the way.

The agreement allowing for sports gambling between Florida and the tribe, and approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior, was agreed upon in 2021 but has been held up in legal challenges. The Supreme Court rejected an emergency bid to block the deal last week, paving the way for the compact to go into effect.

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“The Seminole Tribe thanks the State of Florida, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice for defending our Compact. By working together, the Tribe, the State and the federal government achieved a historic legal victory,” Marcellus Osceola Jr., chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, said in a statement.

Sports betting, along with craps and roulette, will launch at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood, and Seminole Casino Coconut Creek on Dec. 7, with the games being offered at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa on Dec. 8, and at the Seminole Casino Immokalee and Seminole Brighton Casino on Dec. 11. The tribe has also said they will announce further details on the launch of the games soon.

Currently, there is no legal way to place sports bets in Florida, but the Seminole Tribe’s in-person options will change that when they launch. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who helped pass the agreement in 2021, praised the “historic” deal and said that he looks “forward to its full implementation” in a statement on Wednesday.

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“The Seminole Tribe of Florida’s new initiative will create jobs, increase tourism, and provide billions in added revenue for our state,” DeSantis said. “I was proud to work with the Tribe on our historic Gaming Compact and I look forward to its full implementation.”

The main contention in the legal challenges to the compact centered on the tribe’s ability to provide online sports betting inside the state. The Seminole Tribe did not announce any sports betting offerings off-site, with some legal challenges still possible.