Eight days before it is mandated to file a brief in a federal sports betting lawsuit that could, in part, determine the future of online sports betting in Florida, the U.S. Dept. of the Interior Tuesday filed for an extension.

U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar requested the extension due to the “heavy press of earlier assigned cases to the attorneys handling this matter” in a one-page memo the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS). The current deadline for the DOI to respond to the latest brief from the West Flagler and Assoc., the parimutuel that filed the lawsuit, is March 13. Prelogar asked that her office have until April 12 to respond.

The case is one of two that WFA is pursuing as it hopes to level the playing field for legal sports betting in Florida. In federal court, WFA is suing the DOI, saying Sec. Deb Haaland was out of bounds in approving the 2021 Seminole Tribe-Florida compact, which allows for any bet placed in the state to be deemed to have been placed on Indian lands if it flows through a tribal server. A U.S. district court initially found in favor of WFA, but an appellate court last June overturned that ruling, finding in favor of the DOI. Following that ruling, WFA announced its intent to request a writ of certiorari before SCOTUS.

In its February writ of certiorari filing, WFA lawyers referred to the current situation in Florida as “unlawful” and stated their clients are and will “suffer competitive injury” by not being legally allowed to offer wagering.

WFA is also suing Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state legislature in state Supreme Court, saying that lawmakers broke the law when they approved the same compact. Florida voters in 2018 passed Amendment 3, which requires that any expansion of gaming go the voters.

The compact allows the Seminoles, who have a monopoly on gaming, to offer in-person and online sports betting and to add ball and dice games, like roulette and craps, to their retail offerings. The tribe has multiple brick-and-mortar casinos across the state. Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the tribe is well within its right to offer sports betting and additional casino games on tribal land. The issue in question is the legality of digital sports betting. The Seminoles launched their Hard Rock Bet digital sports betting platform last Nov. 7, and began taking in-person sports bets last Dec. 7.