Florida Sports Betting: Uncertainty as Legal Battle Continues
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Okay, so to recap,
00:04 there was a ruling last week that stated
00:08 that sports betting in Florida could potentially come back
00:12 as soon as this week, the app, the social media,
00:17 whoever's running their social media account,
00:19 posted the undertaker coming out of the coffin,
00:22 meaning that sports betting was coming back.
00:24 We found out that there was a ruling,
00:26 essentially meaning that Wes Flagler had applied,
00:29 they were denied, but there was a stay.
00:32 And I think we need a better explanation
00:34 as to what that is, Matthew,
00:35 the stay as to whether or not sports betting comes back
00:37 or there's a delay in that.
00:39 And now even today, we're learning, hold on,
00:43 the stay may or may not be granted,
00:46 but there's also a chance this goes to the Supreme Court.
00:50 And indeed, if that is the case, man,
00:51 we will not have sports betting
00:53 back in Florida anytime soon.
00:54 So I don't know if I explained it correctly,
00:56 but I'm guessing you have more to this.
00:58 - You know, Craig, I don't know if anybody
01:01 is explaining it correctly at this point, honestly,
01:03 because there are so many moving parts,
01:06 but you got the gist of it, right?
01:08 I mean, at this point, we know that the DC court
01:13 is sticking with the seminal ruling.
01:16 And at this point, we know that Wes Flagler is saying,
01:19 okay, well, we want this stay.
01:21 And the stay is basically legal terms
01:23 for keeping Hard Rock and the seminal rules
01:26 from launching that Hard Rock app again,
01:29 until Wes Flagler is able to see what happens next
01:34 and see where this is decided.
01:37 Now, just because they asked for that stay,
01:40 it's not expected that they're going to get it.
01:42 But here's the thing, everybody was going off
01:45 of the expectation that, well, once they file for the stay,
01:48 the seminal will file quickly,
01:50 and that will let the court act quickly.
01:52 Well, the seminal Indians have not filed yet.
01:55 The feds have not filed yet.
01:58 There's no filing yet.
02:00 And so because of that stay request,
02:03 there's a 10-day window for the other side
02:08 to respond, basically.
02:09 So that is pushing us out toward the end of September.
02:13 And as you've said before, Craig,
02:15 and as I think is smart for Hard Rock and the seminal,
02:19 they obviously don't want to have a situation
02:22 where they go live again.
02:23 And then they have to pull the sports book down again.
02:26 For those of us following the case closely,
02:28 we would understand why.
02:30 But just for the general public,
02:32 you have to think about the optics of that, right?
02:35 To have a sports book being pulled down for a second time
02:37 and just calm and better saying,
02:40 "Well, I have no idea why.
02:42 This makes me not want to trust them and use them."
02:45 So they want to avoid that too.
02:48 And then of course, if we go to the Supreme Court,
02:51 West Flagler can ask for a stay as well
02:54 until the Supreme Court is figured out.
02:57 Now, none of the stays that West Flagler is asking for,
03:02 legal experts are telling us not to expect that to stick,
03:06 not to expect that to be granted.
03:08 So at this point, it really is just a waiting game
03:11 of honestly, when Hard Rock and the seminal Indians
03:14 believe that they are on sure enough
03:18 footing to relaunch in Florida.
03:20 And we just don't know when that's going to be.
03:25 So at this point, it still seems like Florida
03:30 could get sports betting this NFL season.
03:34 It really is going to come down to the appetite
03:38 for Hard Rock and the seminal Indians
03:41 and whether they want to launch with that risk
03:44 of potentially having to pull it back.
03:46 So that's what we're looking at right now for Florida.
03:49 It is definitely a waiting game.
03:52 And it's a waiting game where you can't really tell
03:55 which way it's going to tilt.
03:56 And I have to imagine that's very frustrating
03:59 for Florida betters that just want to legally
04:01 get their money down on a couple of games.
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