Developments in casino gaming are moving forward, backward and behind the scenes in Florida.
Governor Ron DeSantis is said to be talking with the Seminole Tribe about a new gaming compact; in fact, DeSantis says the issue could be resolved in the near future. But observers say a new deal still is a long shot.
For the past few years, the state and the Seminoles have been battling over designated player card games offered at many parimutuel facilities around the state. Because of the conflict, last year the Seminoles stopped making payments to the state that totaled about $350 million annually.
DeSantis recently met with operators of the state’s parimutuel facilities. After that meeting, he said it’s not likely he’d approve a deal that could negatively affect them.
“Ultimately, I don’t represent the Seminoles. I represent Florida businesses and employees. We want to make sure those folks are able to do well under whatever arrangement may be reached between the state of Florida and the nation of the Seminole Indian tribe. We will see what comes of that, but something will come up of it, probably one way or another,” DeSantis said.
Senate President Wilton Simpson also wants to finalize a gaming compact with the Seminoles. “We’re getting close with what I would say is the 100,000-foot level of understanding.”
Two years ago, Simpson negotiated a deal with the tribe, but it was rejected by DeSantis when he took office in 2019; the new governor said he needed more time to study the issue. According to Simpson, the state has lost $700 million since the tribe stopped its payments.
House Speaker Chris Sprowls noted the legislature has not approved any gaming compact in the six years he’s served in the House. “The issue is wildly complex. The reality is, every time I think of gaming, I think of that song you sang when you were a kid, when you learned about the human body. You know, the foot bone’s connected to the knee bone. It’s all connected together,” he said.
Lawmakers don’t want to tangle with the Seminole Tribe, which operates six of the state’s seven tribal casinos. The same goes for Disney Corp., which previously fought against legal gambling, but now owns an ESPN franchise.
The tribe and Disney have worked hard to block expansions of gaming in Florida. In 2018, Disney spent more than $20 million and the Seminole Tribe spent more than $24 million to support Amendment 3 on the Florida ballot, known as the anti-casinos initiative. The amendment makes it much harder for a gaming company to build a new casino in Florida off tribal lands unless 60 percent or more of voters statewide approve it.
Meanwhile, two separate Republican-sponsored 2021 legislative packages would legalize, regulate and tax Florida sports betting. Although sports wagering produces much less revenue than slots or table games, a deal between DeSantis and the Seminoles could allow other, more lucrative gaming options for the tribe and possibly other smaller stakeholders. Some analysts, however, believe sports betting is exempt from Amendment 3 provisions, since it does not fall under a narrow interpretation of the amendment’s casino gaming rules.
On another front in Florida gambling, the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the company of the late former Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, is lobbying for more casino gaming in Florida, and the family of former President Donald Trump is said to be promoting their Trump National Doral resort in Miami as a potential site. Trump wants to acquire a gaming license currently owned by a jai alai facility or racetrack, which then could be transferred to the golf property. However, based on Trump’s track record in the gaming industry, bankruptcy lawyers could be the only group that would welcome this development.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said the governor and legislative Republicans would have to choose between “loyalty to Trump or loyalty to their constituents.”
State Rep. Joseph Geller, pointing to Trump’s history of failed casinos in Atlantic City, is also concerned that private conversations between legislators could lead to a bill allowing a casino at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Owner Jeffrey Soffer, who also owns the Big Easy Casino in Broward County, has wanted to allow gambling at the famed hotel for years. Gelber also is keeping an eye on Genting Group, which owns the former Miami Herald bayfront property and also has promoted the property for a casino resort. “This is a very frightening moment,” he said.
In fact, the Miami Beach city council unanimously voted to authorize the acting city attorney to hire outside counsel to, “if necessary, initiate a legal challenge to any action by the Florida legislature to permit casino gambling in the city of Miami Beach or in Miami-Dade County.” The mayor also asked the acting city attorney to be prepared to challenge any such legislation, although no bill has been filed yet. However, Gelber said, “We believe it has the support potentially of the governor and of the legislative leadership.”
Currently Florida law doesn’t allow the transfer of gambling licenses. In 2014, the state denied Hallandale Beach casino Gulfstream Park’s effort to transfer a parimutuel permit to the Omni hotel complex owned by Genting.
“Gambling does not belong on Miami Beach. We’ll fight tooth and nail,” Commissioner Ricky Arriola said.
