Fall Out From The Supreme Court's Huge Florida Sports Betting Decision

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We got some major news in the sports betting world on Monday with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to hear a case that challenged the Seminole Tribe's exclusive rights to sports betting in Florida. 

There is good and bad news stemming from this decision.

First, the bad news. Monopolies suck. Without competition, we, the people, are at the mercy of the company(ies) hogging all the business. Having "multiple outs" is crucial for sports bettors because they can price-shop the best available odds for a game. Unfortunately for Floridians, their only options currently are the Hard Rock Casino or an illegal bookie. 

OutKick founder Clay Travis took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to discuss the possible ramifications of the decision and, frankly, I hope he expands on his X commentary with a longer piece on this website since A: Clay has a law degree, B: he is much smarter than me, and C: I don’t care about Florida.

Why does the Supreme Court's decision about Florida sports betting matter? 

Now, the good news. If the Supreme Court granted cert (short for "certiorari", a law term over my head) to West Flagler, it would've cast doubt on sports betting in Florida pending the court's decision, likely next year. A reversal (aka siding with West Flagler) would've sent Florida "back to square one", per gambling attorney and The Athletic contributor, David Wallach. 

I.e. Florida still has sports betting and will get online sports betting soon. Yet, as I mentioned above, I don't care about Florida. Instead, I'm a California resident thinking "How will this affect me"? Somehow, it's legal to play "gender musical chairs" in California and illegal for an adult to bet the Los Angeles Lakers game. But, thanks to the Florida Man, that may change. 

I don't like using the word "never," but I don't envision visiting the Sunshine State anytime soon. For the record, it has nothing to do with Florida's politics and everything to do with its ecology. There are two things I never want to do that regularly happen in Florida, namely live through a hurricane and be within 1,000 miles of an alligator. 

But, per Wallach, the Supreme Court's decision Monday opens the door for online sports betting to become legal in several states, such as California and Texas. Regardless of my feelings toward the Alligator State, if these patriotic bad a**es help legalize sports betting in California, I swear to God I'll donate to a Boys and Girls Club in Florida. 

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Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants.

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Geoff Clark serves as OutKick’s sports betting guru. As a writer and host of OutKick Bets with Geoff Clark, he dives deep into the sports betting landscape and welcomes an array of sports betting personalities on his show to handicap America’s biggest sporting events. Previously, Clark was a writer/podcaster for USA TODAY's Sportsbook Wire website, handicapping all the major sports tentpoles with a major focus on the NFL, NBA and MLB. Clark graduated from St. John University.