Seminole Tribe Suspends Florida Sports Betting App

The Seminole Tribe has suspended operations of its new Hard Rock Sportsbook mobile app — Florida’s first legal online sports betting platform.

“As a result of yesterday’s Appeals Court decision denying a temporary stay of the District Court’s decision on the 2021 Compact, Hard Rock Sportsbook will temporarily suspend operations of its mobile app in Florida. Account balances for all current players will be refunded as requested,” Gary Bitner, spokesperson for the Seminole Tribe, said in a statement released on Saturday.

On Friday, an appeals court denied the Tribe’s emergency motion for a stay pending appeal in the sports betting case.

That came a week after a federal judge in Washington threw out the entirety of the 2021 Gaming Compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe, an unexpected move that brought the Tribe’s sportsbook operation to a halt. The compact effectively legalized sports betting in Florida both through casinos and online, run by the Seminole Tribe, and the deal allowed for new casinos to be built.

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Bitner added that the Tribe will continue to work to appeal the ruling.

“Despite the decision, the Seminole Tribe looks forward to working with the State of Florida and the U.S. Department of Justice to aggressively defend the validity of the 2021 Compact before the Appeals Court, which has yet to rule on the merits of the 2021 Compact. The Seminole Tribe of Florida, the State of Florida and the United States have all taken the position that the 2021 Compact is legal,” Bitner said in a statement.