On May 29 in a 2-1 opinion, a three-judge panel from Florida’s First District Court of Appeal ruled a racetrack in rural Gadsden County should be awarded a license to offer slot machines. Appeals Judge Robert Benton wrote that Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation officials should have allowed slots at the racetrack in Gretna in Gadsden County, 25 miles west of Tallahassee, because in 2012, voters there approved a referendum allowing the games.
At the time the referendum seemed to be just a symbolic gesture. Voters in Lee, Brevard and Palm Beach counties, plus Hamilton and Washington counties in north Florida, also have approved similar referendums. But Florida law clearly limits slots to racinos in Miami-Dade and Broward county racetracks and casinos operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The appeals panel said their ruling was based on an interpretation of the law by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who claimed slots strictly were allowed at Broward and Miami-Dade county tracks. But, calling the ruling a “monumental change,” Bondi’s office asked the full 15-member appeals court to review the case, which could lead to slot machines at parimutuels outside Broward and Miami-Dade counties–and the end of the Seminole compact. The appeals judges in their decision asked the Florida Supreme Court to review the case.
Part of the Seminole tribe’s agreement with the state gives them exclusive rights to operate card games such as blackjack in exchange for paying the state about $234 million a year for five years. The provision will end on July 31. If the ruling stands, the Seminoles could end up with the right to continue running their casinos, including table games, without paying the state a cent.
Negotiations with the tribe seem to have come to a halt. Seminole tribal spokesman Gary Bitner said, “There is nothing new to report regarding compact negotiations.” However, tribal officials responded to the appeals court’s ruling with a lawsuit asking to join the fight against the court’s ruling, which they said could cause “grave financial harm.” An attorney representing the Gretna track said they will oppose the tribe’s motion.
Meanwhile, Bruce Green, general counsel for the Florida Horsemen Benevolent and Protective Association, said Gretna officials should focus on improving their horseracing industry, not adding slot machines. “Thoroughbred horse racing in South Florida and in Tampa, which supports the farm economy in Ocala, is a huge, huge contributor to the economy in the state of Florida. And when that gets attacked, and parimutuel facilities no longer have the incentive to conduct thoroughbred racing, what happens to the farms in Ocala, what happens to all those people’s jobs?” Green inquired.
