Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Department of the Interior’s deemed approval of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) Compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida in the case of West Flagler Associates v. Haaland. In August 2021, the Secretary of the Interior approved a gaming compact between USET SPF member Tribal Nation, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the state of Florida authorizing the Tribal Nation to offer online sports betting throughout the state, including to bettors located off Tribal lands. West Flagler and others challenged the validity of the Compact and previously, the District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated the Compact in its entirety.
"This is an important decision--not only for the Seminole Tribe, but for all of Indian Country," said USET/USET SPF President, Chief Kirk Francis. "It upholds and protects our unique political status and relationship with the United States government, including through innovative economic development. We celebrate this ruling and extend our deepest congratulations to Seminole."
On August 26, 2022, USET SPF joined 3 partner organizations and 10 Tribal Nations on a Tribal amicus brief that argues Seminole's Compact is within the purview of IGRA. Seminole’s Compact is unique in that it addresses online sports betting whereby Seminole will receive wagers from patrons located outside of its Indian lands and within the state.
The Court said IGRA authorizes gaming activity on Indian lands and does not restrict gaming activity off of Indian lands, and that IGRA further authorizes compacting parties to include provisions relating to other topics within their IGRA compacts. The Court explained “gaming activity outside of Indian lands that is directly related to the gaming activity authorized by a compact may appropriately” be included in an IGRA compact. This victory sets a path forward for Tribal Nations and states to negotiate for the inclusion of and jurisdiction allocation over online gaming in their IGRA compacts.
For more information, please contact Liz Malerba, USET SPF Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, at lmalerba@usetinc.org.
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