A Leon County judge will now review the motion before determining if the lawsuit has merit.
No Public Vote Over Compact
The center of PTC’s argument revolves around the lack of a public vote before the gaming compact was signed in 2021. The group pointed to a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018. It calls for a vote to be held before the state can expand casino gaming, which the PTC believes includes sports betting.
Florida’s motion to dismiss points to a subsection of that amendment, which says it can’t be used to limit the ability of Native American tribes to negotiate new compacts with the state. With the Seminole Tribe signing the compact and hosting online sportsbook servers on tribal lands, the state argues it isn’t subject to the amendment.
Questions over What “Casino Gambling” Includes
The biggest question in this battle may be what qualifies as “casino gambling.” This is the phrase used in the amendment that the PTC cites, but the state argues that it doesn’t include sports betting. Instead, the language is intended to focus on casino games, such as blackjack, poker, and slots.
The PTC believes that sports betting has become a staple of casinos across the US. The group also points to the timing of the amendment, which was approved the same year as the US Supreme Court paved the way for legal sports betting. Given the timing of the vote, they believe Florida residents had sports betting in mind when they overwhelmingly approved the amendment.
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