The Florida sports betting quagmire will trudge into 2023.

The United States Court of Appeals released a briefing schedule for the upcoming Florida tribal compact sports betting case. Opening briefs are not scheduled to begin until August and will not conclude until November. Oral arguments from both sides will then commence, but the court has not decided a date.

So what does this all mean? It means the complicated web of Florida sports betting will not be untangled until at least next year.

Florida sports betting ruling not close

The past year for Florida sports betting has been a roller coaster ride, with several attempts from various parties to legalize forms of sports betting all failing. Florida’s sports betting journey began last summer when the state approved a 30-year gaming compact that gave the Seminole Tribe exclusive retail and online sports betting rights in the state.

The gaming compact was thrown out by U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich in November 2021. Friedrich said it was her opinion that its inclusion of online sports betting ultimately violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Now, Florida finds itself with several appeals of Friedrich’s decision which are slowly moving through the U.S. Court of Appeals. Both the Seminole Tribe and the U.S. Department of the Interior filed appeals.

Florida betting initiative fails

A Florida online sports betting initiative, backed financially by powerhouse sportsbook operators FanDuel and DraftKings, failed to reach the required verified signatures for placement on the November 2022 general election ballot.

If it had been placed on the 2022 ballot, Florida voters would have been able to approve or deny a motion to legalize sports and event betting under Florida law at professional sports venues and pari-mutuel facilities. Additionally, it would have approved online sports betting throughout the state for qualified sportsbooks and Native American tribes with a Florida gaming compact.

Sports betting tax revenues would have supplemented a state education trust fund.

The ballot initiative was financially backed by both DraftKings and FanDuel, both of which contributed millions to the cause.

Not happening anytime soon

So what does all this mean? It means Floridians will not see legalized online sports for the next several years, barring a successful appeal. The earliest Florida online sports betting could launch is sometime in 2025 if a citizen’s initiative is approved in 2024.

Retail sports betting could be legalized if its included in a new gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe, but this would obviously not include any avenues for online sports betting and would limit the activity to Seminole Tribe owned casinos.