ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Five Florida pari-mutuels have signed a marketing agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida to promote the launch of a new mobile sports betting app.
The Hard Rock Sportsbook app is part of a gaming compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Indian Tribe. The agreement, which was signed in May and approved by the legislature in August, allows the tribe to exclusively offer online sports betting in Florida.
The five pari-mutuels who signed the agreement with the Seminole Tribe include Palm Beach Kennel Club, Hialeah Park Casino, Ocala Gainesville Poker and Ocala Breeder's Sales Company, Tampa Bay Downs and TGT Poker & Racebook. The marketing agreement will allow the pari-mutuels to market the sportsbook at their facilities and receive 60 percent of the profits in return.
On top of allowing sports betting, the compact also allows the tribe to open three additional facilities on its Hollywood Reservation. In exchange for the compact, the state gets a guarantee of $2.5 billion over the next five years and $6 billion by the year 2030.
However, the agreement has been met with several legal challenges.
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One challenges the law by arguing compacts should only be allowed on Seminole Tribe lands. The lawsuit also argues the sports betting law violates the state's own constitution.
It alleges the law violates Amendment 3 of the state constitution, which voters passed in 2018, and it gives Floridians the right to vote on issues related to gambling that occurs off tribal land.
Law experts believe the odds are stacked against the compact lasting. A hearing in Washington D.C. over some legal challenges is scheduled to take place on Nov. 5.
