The US Department of the Interior (DOI) has revealed its disapproval over the US Supreme Court’s involvement with Florida’s current betting issue.
US DOI Against Supreme Court’s Involvement With Florida Betting
The US DOI has filed a 31-page report, written by a group of attorneys, as a rebuttal to West Flagler’s writ of certiorari request – focusing on Florida’s sports betting structure.
The Seminole Tribe has agreed a compact that accepts a sports betting Monopoly in Florida, as it looks to add further online gambling sites into Florida.
Flagler believes that the compact is outdated and should no longer be in the works, which is something that the DOI disagree with.
Flagler is also looking into bringing the issue into a debate with the US Supreme Court, but the DOI is hoping to avoid this escalating any further.
The DOI has posed a series of questions about the compact, which ask whether the compact viloates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
The Seminole has responded to these issues, saying that the agreement does not violate the three questions – meaning it should stay in action and should not be discussed by the Supreme Court.
A spokesperson from the IGRA released a statement that believes the compact should be discussed by the Tribe and State.
The statement read: “IGRA largely leaves the substance of a Tribal-State compact concerning gaming on Indian lands to be determined by the Tribe and the State that negotiate it.”
The DOI also included the court of appeals over the Fifth Amendment issue, as the organization feels this mater should be a tribal/state discussion and should not be entering a federal debate.
As of now, no answer has been confirmed and it is in the hands of the Supreme Court as to whether or not the issue should be raised.