Florida Sports Betting: Good News, Bad News for Future of Online Wagering

Floridians itching to bet on sports got a bit of good news/bad news Wednesday in a ruling handed down by the United States Supreme Court.

Sports Handle’s Jill R. Dorson reports that the highest court in the land denied West Flagler and Associates (WFA) request to stay a lower-court ruling allowing the Seminole Tribe to launch a sports betting platform. A Seminole spokesman described the ruling as “very good news” and say they are “heartened by this decision.”

However, the tribe is not out of the woods yet as there are several court cases on the horizon. The WFA owns two parimutuels, and the ruling does not stop them from filling for a stay with the Florida Supreme Court. The ruling also doesn’t mean that future cases determining the legality of the state's sports betting going forward have been decided.

In fact, there are a pair of hearings in the coming weeks about sports betting's future in the Sunshine State. WFA has already announced that it will appeal a case against the U.S. Department of the Interior that must be submitted by Nov. 20. There is also a case yet to be determined by the Florida Supreme Court, who must rule on it before Dec. 1.

It’s all a bit tricky to understand, so what does it all mean?

Well, the gist of it is that while it is once again legal to bet on sports, fans have no means to do so at the moment. The Seminoles are not launching a live platform at this time as court cases continue, but there will hopefully be clarity in the coming months.

You can keep up to date with the proceedings by checking out our Florida sports betting page.