A judgment on the case that might decide the future of sports betting in Florida is on track to arrive next year after interested celebrations argued their positions on Wednesday before a panel of judges.

Lawyers on behalf of the U.S. federal government, the state of Florida, and two casinos appeared in front of 3 judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for oral arguments.

After an hour-and-a-half of input from the legal representatives, as well as concerns from the bench, the judges said they would take the case under advisement. A choice on the matter will likely come at some point in the very first half of 2023, according to sports wagering attorney Daniel Wallach.

Decision will likely be provided in February-April range, with outside possibility for late January. And the judgment might not even be the last word on the concern, as the non-prevailing party will likely seek rehearing "en banc" before complete court, with SCOTUS possibility too. https://t.co/dvPZJusE1h

The arguments made Wednesday are in connection with a federal judge's choice in 2015 to toss out a compact agreed to in between Florida and the state's Seminole Tribe that, among other things, permitted the latter to provide retail and online sports wagering websites.

In return for the reliable monopoly on legal sports wagering in the Sunshine State, the Seminole consented to pay to the government, including $2.5 billion over the very first 5 years of the 30-year gaming plan.

After being authorized by the Florida legislature, the compact was sent out to the Department of the Interior for another approval, which was technically received after the secretary of the interior took no action on the agreement.

That, however, did not fulfill with the approval of the owners of the Magic City Casino in Miami (West Flagler Associates) and the Bonita Springs Poker Room (Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation), who challenged the federal government's approval of the compact over its online sports betting provisions. To name a few things, the casinos argued the gambling permitted by the compact threatened to harm their organizations.

Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich then ruled in November of 2021 that the compact violated key arrangements of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) - the law that "produces a framework for regulating gaming activity on Indian lands" - by licensing betting both on and off those lands.

Friedrich reserved the government's approval of the compact. This ultimately had the effect of stopping the online sports betting in Florida that had actually been taking place through the Seminole-owned Acid Rock Sportsbook for about a month.

The federal government appealed Friedrich's choice and the legal proceeding has actually been grinding its method through the court ever considering that.

"I think that the primary points are just ... that the secretary acted lawfully here, the district court's conclusion was based upon an error of federal contract law interpretation, and West Flagler's much broader argument need to be turned down," said Rachel Heron, a lawyer for the federal government, during Wednesday's procedures. "And for that factor, the court should reverse."

Cruel and unusual

Hamish Hume, a lawyer for West Flagler, was relatively blunt about their position, informing the court that IGRA required the interior secretary to reject the compact since it intended to authorize betting off the Seminole's lands.

The gambling establishment owners appeared particularly vexed about the federal government's position on online wagering, which the legal representative for West Flagler stated was seeking to enable mobile wagering off the Seminole lands even while declaring in briefs that IGRA can not license that.

"What they're stating makes no sense and is going to be a terrible joke if this court accepts the argument," Hume said at one point.

Herron, however, stated there was no other way under the law to "have it both ways," as Hume had actually said.

"The secretary did act lawfully," Herron said. "The district court's contrary conclusion was based on an error of law, although admittedly a fairly narrow one that specified to the truths of this case and the language of the compact that the secretary was reviewing."

Wednesday's proceedings leave lawyers, bettors, and bookies all waiting for a decision that might dictate their next moves.

If the compact were restored, Acid rock might start taking bets again in Florida. And if not, DraftKings, FanDuel, and others could take another perform at getting a sports betting-related question on the 2024 election ballot, which they failed to do in 2022.

There is also the potential for an additional appeal, as much as the Supreme Court. In the meantime, there are no legal sports wagering alternatives in Florida.