Seminoles relaunch Hard Rock sports betting app in Florida amid legal lisputes

The Seminole Tribe has reactivated operations for its online sports betting app in Florida, despite looming legal disputes questioning the legality of its monopoly in the state. Operated by Hard Rock, Hard Rock Sports Bet's relaunch took place Tuesday, although it is aimed at a limited user base.

Seminole Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner announced that the tribe was “offering limited access to existing Florida customers to test its Hard Rock Bet platform,”  giving priority to customers who had already used the service in 2021 or who were part of the Unity loyalty program. Some accounts dating to that period were able to be activated.

Early Access to Hard Rock Bet is now live in Florida!

Those who have bet previously with Hard Rock in Florida, including qualifying Unity by Hard Rock loyalty members, can bet now!

Click to learn how you can start betting!

— Hard Rock Bet (@HardRockBet) November 7, 2023

After a brief period of activity in 2021, the Hard Rock sports betting app was suspended amid legal issues. A lawsuit argued the compact deal that paved the way for its launch violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act by allowing gambling outside of tribal lands; while a separate suit before the state Supreme Court focuses on an amendment to the Florida Constitution that requires voters to approve any expansion of gambling in the state.

Bob Jarvis of Nova Southeastern University, a law professor and gambling expert at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, told the Orlando Sentinel he was surprised by the relaunch, considering the legal implications that are still pending, and especially after the tribe revealed last week that gamblers will be able to place sports bets in person at their six casinos starting in December.

“That was already a bold move, given that the lawsuits are still going on both in the federal courts and the state courts,” Jarvis said, “… It doesn’t make any sense, frankly, for them to be doing this while there are still judges and justices who are yet to weigh in on the legality of mobile sports betting.”

The 2021 gambling agreement brokered by Governor Ron DeSantis allows the Seminoles to offer online gambling throughout Florida, under the condition that the servers are located on tribal land. In exchange for sole control over the vertical, the Seminole tribe agreed to pay $2.5 billion to the state over the next five years and potentially billions more in the future.

However, gambling competitors West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp. argued in lawsuits that the agreement disregards the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act by allowing betting off tribal land, while a second lawsuit brings up an amendment to the Florida Constitution that requires voters to approve any expansion of gambling.

"The bigger issue is what West Flagler does in response to this soft launch, and they told the court not once but twice, and I'm talking about the Florida Supreme Court, that they will file what's known as an all writs motion," attorney Daniel Wallach told Fox 13.

West Flager Associates is suing the state and Governor Ron DeSantis. The Florida Supreme Court has yet to say if they plan to take up the case, but Wallach says it may not go well for West Flager.

"I think Governor DeSantis is going to prevail in the case brought against him because he appointed 5 out of the 7 Florida Supreme Court justices, and they've never ruled against him on a similar kind of motion," Wallach told Fox 13. He also expects the Florida Supreme Court to rule on the merits in the case possibly sometime in the first quarter of 2024.