Seminole Tribe suspends sports betting app after losing bid for court stay

The Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Sportsbook on Saturday announced an immediate suspension of its Florida operations as a result of an appeals court ruling denying a motion to continue online sports betting to overturn a lower court ruling.

“Due to yesterday’s decision by the Court of Appeal, the Hard Rock Sportsbook mobile app will temporarily stop accepting new bets and deposits,” said the Hard Rock Sportsbook on Twitter. “Player information and account balance are secure and the app stays online for easy withdrawals via any payment method.”

Gary Bitner, the tribe’s spokesman, said in a statement to the Times / Herald on Saturday that “account balances for all current players will be refunded as requested”.

The Hard Rock Sportsbook said the suspension includes acceptance of all new bets, new accounts and new deposits, but “all active bets commencing prior to December 4, 2021 at 11 a.m. ET will be settled and settled normally based on the outcome of the event . “

However, all bets after this time “will be voided and the initial bet amounts will be refunded to your app wallet. This includes all future bets. “

“Your funds are safe and secure,” added the company. “The app remains active for simple withdrawals.”

The company added that free bets may not be withdrawn, but Hard Rock Sportsbook “will keep many free bets in your account, which will be available again when HardRock Sportsbook accepts new bets again.”

However, it can take months before the tribe is allowed to resume their sports book as the legal challenge winds its way through the court.

West Flagler Associates, the owners of Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room, and a group of plaintiffs including No Casinos and Miami businessmen Armando Codina and Norman Braman, have been brought into two lawsuits against the legality of the contract .

However, after the lawsuits were filed, the tribe quietly opened the so-called “Early Access Launch” of its sports betting app on Nov. 1, which allowed anyone in Florida over the age of 21 to place bets and collect online bets on sporting events using the Internet the Hard Rock Sportsbook app from anywhere in Florida.

Related: Sports betting is getting off to a quiet start in Florida with the Seminole Tribe

On November 22nd, Judge Dabney L. Friedrich of the US District Court in the District of Columbia declared the 30-year, billion-dollar gambling agreement with the state known as the Treaty, ruling it violated Indian Gambling Act.

As part of the pact, the tribe agreed to pay the state at least $ 2.5 billion over the first five years in exchange for a monopoly on sports betting in the state and adding roulette and craps to its casino operations.

In order to circumvent a state law that prohibits the expansion of gambling without voter consent unless permitted as a tribal game, the governor and the tribe agreed to give the tribe control of online sports betting throughout the state of Florida, by having all bets run through the tribe’s computer server. However, the court said this provision violated India’s federal gaming law.

Friedrich dismissed a residency or temporary suspension of her own judgment for the first time last week, and on Friday the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled 2: 1 that the tribe’s urgency petition is denied because it “fails became”. the stringent requirements for a suspension of pending appeals. “

The tribe had argued that the sovereignty and economic interests of the Seminole tribe would do “irreparable harm” if the verdict was not put on hold. It told the court that discontinuing sports betting would jeopardize hundreds of jobs for employees and salespeople already hired to work in gaming operations.

Related: Seminole Tribe is appealing Florida sports betting ruling and asking for a stay

The tribe paid two $ 37.5 million in revenue to the state under the contract signed by Governor Ron DeSantis and approved by the Florida Legislature in May. It told the court that it had also hired hundreds of employees and spent over $ 25 million to develop the online sports book.

Hard Rock Sportsbook continued to operate the online app to comply with its request for a temporary suspension of Friedrich’s judgment.

Meanwhile, West Flagler Associates, the owners of Magic City Casino and the Bonita Springs Poker Room who filed the lawsuit, accused the tribe of “being disingenuous to the court for allegedly irreparable harm”.

“While telling the court that it will lose tens of millions in revenue without an emergency stop, it is telling its customers (more than a week after the district court’s ruling) that its illegal online sports games” remain completely open “. all players ‘and’ nothing to worry ‘, “the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote.

The court of appeal must now schedule a hearing on the main issue. The tribe said it has the support of the US Department of Justice, which will defend the Home Office’s position on the legality of the pact.

“The Florida Seminole Tribe, the State of Florida, and the United States have all taken the position that the pact is legal in 2021,” Bitner said.

He said the tribe would work with the US Department of Justice “to aggressively defend the validity of the 2021 pact in the appeals court, which has yet to rule on the merits of the 2021 pact.”

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/12/04/seminole-tribe-suspends-sports-betting-app-after-losing-bid-for-court-stay/