The Seminole tribe makes a deal with pari-mutuels

Calling it a “win-win,” leaders of the Seminole Tribe of Florida announced Monday that they had reached an agreement with pari-mutuel companies that will end lawsuits over a 2021 deal that left the tribe over the entire state gave up control online sports betting. The equivalent companies West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp. have unsuccessfully challenged the sports betting plan in state and federal courts.

The agreement announced Monday includes the Seminole Tribe; West Flagler employees; Bonita-Fort Myers Corp.; Southwest Florida Enterprises, Inc.; and Pari-Mutuels owner Isadore Havenick, according to a news release. The pari-mutuel companies agreed to “refrain from any future litigation relating to the Seminole Tribe’s gaming activities,” the release said. As part of the deal, jai alai, delivered by West Flagler affiliate Battle Court Jai Alai, LLC, will be offered on the Seminoles’ betting app in early 2025. Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming, called the deal “a win-win” for the tribe and the companies.

“Rather than face years of additional litigation, this agreement will allow the parties to work together to promote jai alai, which has played an important role in Florida’s gaming landscape for nearly 100 years,” Allen said. The companies’ lawsuits challenged part of a 30-year gambling agreement, known as a “compact,” that the tribe made with the state. The deal includes a hub-and-spoke provision that will allow the Seminoles to accept mobile sports bets placed anywhere in the state, with the bets routed through servers on tribal lands. The pari-mutuel companies argued in part that the hub-and-spoke provision violated federal law regulating gambling on tribal lands.

The US Supreme Court in June refused to respond to the companies’ call of a court decision that upheld the billion-dollar agreement. The pari-mutuels and Havenick also asked the Florida Supreme Court to decide whether the sports betting regulation violated a section of the state constitution that requires voter approval for gambling expansions. In March, judges unanimously ruled that the companies could not bring their case directly to the Florida Supreme Court.

Under the pact, the tribe agreed to pay Florida about $20 billion, including $2.5 billion over the first five years of the agreement. The agreement also allowed the Seminoles to offer games such as craps and roulette at tribal casinos. The tribe’s gambling expansion was stalled for more than two years amid the legal battle over the sports betting provision, but the Seminoles began making progress with sports betting last fall.