As the May 5 session deadline nears, state Senator Bill Galvano, the Senate’s chief gambling-issues negotiator, said the Florida House recently made a “substantial offer” that could revamp the state gaming industry and work out compact details with the Seminole Tribe of Florida—and considerably expand gambling in the state. Originally the House wanted to maintain the status of gambling in the state. But the House’s latest proposal would allow the Seminole Tribe to expand its offerings and also contained concessions to parimutuel operators. State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, Galvano’s House counterpart, said, “We know that time is running out, so we wanted to make a serious and substantial offer to the Senate. We feel like this puts us in a position where we could come towards the Senate position on a lot of things and retain the House position on a lot of things.”
The House removed its opposition to decoupling, which would allow greyhound and most horse racetracks to eliminate racing but offer other gambling options. The House plan, unlike the Senate’s, would require county voters to approve decoupling. The House also agreed to one new gambling venue in Miami-Dade County, but the Senate still wants a second new casino in the Miami area. The House also agreed to reduce slot-machine tax rates at racinos in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, at Seminole casinos and at other parimutuels if they lower the number of slots on the gaming floor.
The Seminole compact negotiated by Governor Rick Scott and tribal leaders in 2015, and never approved by the legislature, once again offered the starting point for the House and Senate plans. The proposal included requiring the Seminoles to guarantee $3 billion in payments to the state over seven years, in exchange for offering craps and roulette at all seven tribal casinos. However, the Senate recently offered a measure eliminating the $3 billion requirement—meaning the state would receive less in revenue. Galvano said removing the tribe’s required payment was to “assure them that if we don’t derive a certain level of revenue share from the Seminoles then we will achieve it through private industry.” Seminole attorney Barry Richard said tribal officials will wait for a final offer before commenting.
The House also approved certain so-called designated-player games if county voters approve them. Regulators have said some card rooms skirted state law by allowing third-party companies to buy their way into the games and using a worker to act as a virtual bank. The House also proposed capping the number of designated player tables at cardrooms to 25 percent of the total tables. Bets would top out at $25 per hand—a significant reduction from the currently unlimited bets. “We want to avoid a scenario where there really isn’t a game where everybody could participate,” Diaz said.
Certain court rulings have weakened the state’s position regarding the Seminole compact. At the moment, the Florida Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case that could allow slots at parimutuels in eight counties where voters have approved them. The Senate would allow slots at parimutuels in those counties and possibly more in the future, as long as they’re limited to 1,500 machines and forfeit one active parimutuel permit. The House version would not allow this expansion. The 2015 deal would have allowed slots to be added only in Palm Beach County, and more slots in Miami-Dade.
One thing both proposals omit, however, is establishing a regulatory agency to create and enforce gambling rules. Legislators said there’s no time this year to include it. “It hasn’t been in either bill this year, so to introduce a new thing like that is a weighty lift,” Diaz said.
Court cases—past and future—also are impacting the conference committee’s actions. A source close to the negotiations said Galvano was “spooked” by a recent state Supreme Court decision allowing the Voter Control of Gambling amendment on the 2018 ballot. The amendment’s proposed language would give voters the “exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling” in the state. The Senate contends legislators have the authority to expand gaming in Florida; the House supports the proposed amendment.
John Sowinski, president of No Casinos, the organization behind the proposed amendment, said, “This conference committee process is a prime example why gambling expansion should not be subject to legislative ‘sausage making’ because it results in gambling creep. It is clear that there needs to be a bright line in the Florida constitution that gives Florida voters the exclusive right to authorize gambling in our state.”
The so-called Gretna Racing case pending before the Supreme Court also could have a major impact on gambling in Florida. The Gadsden County racetrack wants to add slot machines; county voters previously approved them. Parimutuel interests have said Gretna and other facilities in counties where voters approved slots should be able to offer them. A ruling in favor of Gretna could result in the single largest gambling expansion in the state.
Said Diaz, “There’s too many lawsuits out there. I’ve said time and time again that these lawsuits impact the way that our state gets money from the tribe. We believe the tribe’s been a good partner. They’ve done their part, and they’ve also alerted us when they’ve thought we’ve been in violation.” But he stated numerous court rulings over the last few years have chipped away at the Seminole compact by allowing gambling to expand without legislative approval.
