UPDATED: Gov. DeSantis, West Flagler Jockeying For Position in Florida Sports Betting Lawsuit

Oct 15, 2023; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) reacts after the game against the Carolina Panthers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY SportsGov. Ron DeSantis (R) has requested an extension to file a response to West Flagler’s lawsuitAsking until Dec. 1 due to “heavy workload” of Florida Solicitor General’s OfficeWest Flagler is urging the Florida Supreme Court to deny the request

UPDATE: The Florida Supreme Court today granted the 30-day extension for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Around and around we go, as both parties in the Florida online sports betting lawsuit are jockeying for position.

Yesterday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for a 30-day extension, until Dec. 1, to file a response to West Flagler’s lawsuit to invalidate the online sports betting language in the state’s approved 2021 gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe.

Hours later, counsel for West Flagler petitioned the court to deny the extension, citing the fact that they originally offered a seven-day extension to Gov. DeSantis and the Solicitor General’s Office to file their response.

And so we go.

Particularly Heavy Workload for Solicitor General

In the petition to the Florida Supreme Court, Ashley Moody, Attorney General representing DeSantis, noted that this is the “respondents’ first request for an extension of time in which to file their response” and No Casinos Inc. recently requested and received an extension of 10 days for its amicus brief in support of West Flagler.

“Due to the press of other matters, counsel does indeed require additional time to complete the response in this case and for client review. The Florida Solicitor General’s Office has a particularly heavy workload over the next 14 days,” Moody wrote.

West Flagler, Moody noted in the petition, will only agree to a seven-day extension.

Several hours later, West Flagler counsel submitted a brief to the Florida Supreme Court asking them to deny the petition. Raquel A. Rodriguez, counsel for West Flagler, noted in the filing that DeSantis and the Attorney General have not asked for additional time to respond because of the amicus brief, but that they rely on workload. This is why the seven-day extension was offered as a compromise, she wrote.

No parties know how the U.S. Supreme Court will proceed over the next two months with the the federal case being requested by West Flagler, Rodriguez said, or even if the Seminole Tribe “will decide to take matters into its own hands and launch its sports betting application state-wide.”

“Any enlargement of time, if granted, should not serve as a shield for Respondents to argue for any delay in the Court’s consideration of such a request, if needed,” she wrote.

The Florida Supreme Court will most likely make its decision on an time extension in the next several days.

West Flagler Believes Florida Sports Betting Must Be Approved by Voters

In its lawsuit, West Flagler is contending that the approved 2021 gaming compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe, which included online sports betting exclusivity for the Seminole Tribe, violates Amendment 3 of the Florida Constitution. Florida voters approved the amendment in 2018, which declares that voters have the “exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling in the State of Florida.”

West Flagler asserts that the “implementing law” authorizing the off-reservation sports betting provision of the compact expanded casino gambling throughout the state, not just tribal lands.

The petition notes that Gov. DeSantis exceeded his authority by entering into a compact that granted the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to offer off-reservation online and in-person sports betting throughout the state.