Compliance Updates
US Supreme Court Refuses to Take Up Challenge to Florida Online Sports Betting Compact
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up a challenge to an agreement that gave the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to handle online sports betting in Florida, dealing a blow to the deal’s opponents.
The nation’s highest court denied a petition from opponents of the compact, which promises to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars for the tribe and the state.
The decision was the latest setback for West Flagler Associates and the Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., which operate racetracks and poker rooms in Florida. In March, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the companies had filed the wrong type of petition to challenge the 2021 compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration.
“What’s important with today’s announcement is that the most significant barrier to online sports betting in Florida has been removed,” said Daniel Wallach, a South Florida attorney and sports betting law expert who had filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to either take up the case or reverse it outright.
The companies say the compact gives the tribe a sports betting monopoly in the nation’s third-most populous state and that the U.S. Department of Interior wrongly approved the compact even though it violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which requires that gambling occur on tribal lands.
The plaintiffs questioned whether online sports bets that can be placed from anywhere in Florida could be considered to be on tribal land when only the computer servers that host the betting services are located there.
They said DeSantis and the Legislature, which approved the compact, improperly exceeded their powers by authorizing sports betting off tribal lands.
In their state court challenge, they argued that the deal creates a backdoor way out of a requirement, passed by voters in 2018 as an amendment to the Florida Constitution, that a citizens initiative is needed to expand casino gambling outside of tribal land. The tribe has argued that the Legislature has the authority to decide where online gambling is initiated and that the amendment doesn’t change that.
Attorneys for DeSantis and the legislative leaders have said that sports betting is different from casino gambling and therefore isn’t prohibited by the amendment.
The tribe launched its online sports betting operation late last year, and Florida’s share of revenues is already $357 million from last December through May. State economic forecasters predict that the revenue sharing from tribal gambling could total $4.4 billion through the end of this decade.
The decision by the Supreme Court “means members of the Seminole Tribe and all Floridians can count on a bright future made possible by the Compact,” the tribe said in a statement.
Monday’s decision could encourage other tribes to follow the same path to operate online gambling, Wallach said.
“Tribes in other states stand to benefit from this decision because now they have a clear roadmap that has cleared judicial review. I would expect to see efforts ramped up in other states,” Wallach said.
BMM Testlabs, the world’s original gaming test lab renowned for exceptional product compliance and certification services, today announced the promotion of Sacha McLaughlin to Vice President of Global Quality Assurance.
BMM’s President of Land-Based Gaming & Inspections, Kirk White, said, “Sacha has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, operational excellence, and a customer-first attitude. Her experience and passion will be critical as we continue to grow our QA services to meet the always-evolving needs of the global gaming industry.”
With over 18 years of experience in software implementation and seven years in the gaming industry, McLaughlin brings extensive knowledge of both agile and waterfall development methodologies, test planning, project management, and cross-regional team leadership. She is recognized for her ability to build and scale QA organizations that deliver quality, speed, and value to customers.
McLaughlin joined BMM in 2018 and has held roles of increasing responsibility within the Company, most recently serving as Senior Director of Quality Assurance. Throughout her tenure, she has been instrumental in expanding BMM’s QA capabilities and helping customers launch products into the global gaming market more quickly, with a focus on regulatory compliance, functionality, fairness, and security.
The post BMM TESTLABS PROMOTES SACHA MCLAUGHLIN TO VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL QUALITY ASSURANCE appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
On the occasion of the four-year anniversary of the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL) on 1 July 2025, Sandro Kirchner, State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, for Sport and Integration, has taken over the chairmanship of the GGL Administrative Board, succeeding Reiner Moser, Head of Office in the Ministry of the Interior, for Digitalisation and Municipalities for Baden-Württemberg.
During Reiner Moser’s term as Chairman of the Board of Directors, the GGL further established itself as a reliable institution for the supervision and monitoring of the online gambling market.
“The online gambling market has developed rapidly in recent years. The GGL has met the resulting challenges with great commitment and can already demonstrate remarkable results both in combating illegal gambling and in regulating and supervising the legal market. The exchange between the states and the GGL is always trusting and results-oriented. I would like to sincerely thank the Board of Directors and all GGL employees for this constructive cooperation over the past year,” said Head of Department Moser.
State Secretary Kirchner takes over the chairmanship at a time when the GGL is pursuing ambitious goals, including stronger international networking, particularly to further curb the illegal gambling market.
“The consistent prosecution of illegal offerings and player protection are my highest priorities. The work of the GGL must continue to be significantly geared towards ensuring that the business model of illegal gambling is not profitable in Germany,” said Sandro Kirchner.
With regard to his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors, he added: “I look forward to continuing the successful work of everyone involved over the past four years. We will certainly continue to face many challenges. However, I believe the GGL is well positioned to achieve this.”
The Board of Directors is the supervisory and steering body of the GGL. It consists of the heads of departments or state secretaries of the ministries responsible for gaming supervision in the 16 member states. The chair of the Board of Directors rotates annually on July 1st in alphabetical order of the member states.
The post Change of Chairmanship in the GGL Board of Directors as of 1 July 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) has launched a compliance campaign focusing on external gambling signage and internal gambling related signage that is visible from the outside of the premises.
Inspectors will be engaging licensees and attending venues to assess compliance.
L&GNSW will be taking escalated enforcement action against any venue found not to be complying with the requirements.
From 1 December 2023, L&GNSW adopted a zero-tolerance enforcement approach regarding external gambling-related signage. This followed a compliance campaign which involved the removal of all external gambling related signage such as “VIP Lounge,” signage that includes dragon imagery or similar, and the removal of adopted imagery including images associated with gaming machines.
External gambling related signage at hotels and registered clubs are subjected to the requirements of sections 43 and 44 of the Gaming Machines Act 2001 NSW (the Act).
These requirements are in place to continue supporting gambling harm minimisation by reducing the visibility and promotion of gambling, particularly to vulnerable individuals and the broader community.
Venues that are not yet compliant should consult the 2023 Compliance Campaign: External gaming signage for hotels & clubs position paper or contact the Hospitality Concierge for additional information on the requirements.
L&GNSW recommends venues conduct self-audits to ensure their obligations and requirements in relation to the Act are met. A Gaming Harm Minimisation Fact sheet is also available.
Breaches of section 43(1) and 44(1) of the Act can result in on the spot fines of $1100 per offence or a maximum fine of $11,000 per offence if prosecuted.
The post L&GNSW Launches Compliance Campaign appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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