Incoming Florida Senate President Bill Galvano and incoming House Speaker Jose Oliva recently met with Seminole Gaming Chief Executive Officer Jim Allen, Seminole Tribe Council Chairman Marcellus Osceola and Tribal General Counsel Jim Shore to “reopen lines of communication” in regard to legislation involving Seminole casino operations in the state.
After the meeting, Galvano said slots expansion and designated player games still present challenges to reaching an agreement. “The impression I got was not that the tribe was unwilling to compromise. They raised the greatest concern with regard to the expansion of slots. The designated player games are subject to many different machinations and definitions. So I believe that issue is still in play. The pressure points on the tribe include a lack of stability on their part, the fact that if we feel like that there’s not a path forward, we’re going to have to re-evaluate and maybe make a change to the gaming currently in the state of Florida to recoup revenues before a potential amendment passes.”
Galvano was referring to the Voter Control of Gambling constitutional amendment that will be on the November ballot. If it receives 60 percent approval, voters—not lawmakers—would determine if any new or added gaming would be allowed in the state.
It’s important to come to terms with Seminole officials, Galvano said, because Florida receives a significant share of the tribe’s casino revenue each year in exchange for exclusively offering blackjack and other banked card games, plus slot outside south Florida. Future contributions from the tribe need to be secured before the legislature potentially loses its say over gambling-related decisions.
Galvano noted, “There are still other games that the tribe wants, like craps and roulette, so we’re still open to discussion. I am comfortable there is a way forward. I’m not saying it’s a failsafe. But there definitely is opportunity on the table to go forward.” However, he said if the tribe stands firm on no new slots or designated player games, “I think we would have to regroup on how we want our relationship to exist with the tribe going forward. This is based on my assessment on the landscape before us.”
The House recently moved its legislation that would ratify a new compact, negotiated in 2015 between the tribe and Governor Rick Scott, that includes the state receiving $3 billion over seven years in exchange for the tribe’s exclusive rights to offer blackjack and slots outside south Florida. The House deal would ban designated player games and stop slot expansion, specifically, in eight counties where voters have approved them.
Commenting on the House bill supported by Speaker Richard Corcoran, Senate President Joe Negron said, “Nothing has changed. I think that we owe it to the hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens who live in the eight counties that have approved slot machine referendums, including St. Lucie County, which I represent. They decided they wanted additional slots. I think that needs to be given great weight. It’s hard for me to envision a gaming bill that would get to 21 votes in the Senate and at the same time ignore the clear direction and mandate of the voters. We look at the Senate bill as reflective of the majority of the priorities of senators and making sure that businesses that have been involved in gaming in Florida for, in some cases, generations, that those businesses should be treated fairly and equitably while we negotiate with the Seminole Tribe.”
Seminole Tribal Counsel Barry Richard took issue with Negron’s position. He noted the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled last May “nothing in state gambling law grants any authority to regulate slot machine gaming to any county. Maybe somebody needs to explain it to me, but I don’t understand what ‘do right by these counties’ means. If someone does something illegal, we need to go back and say it’s okay now? That makes no sense at all, and it’s not fair to the tribe.”
Richard asserted that expanding slots, allowing designated player games and legalizing daily fantasy sports “are non-starters for the tribe. It’s insulting to the tribe to say, ‘Yeah, pay us more and by the way, we’re going to increase your competition.’ Remember, the tribe doesn’t have to do anything. They don’t need to make a deal with the state anymore. They’re willing to make a deal, but only if it makes economic sense. Right now, nobody’s talking about doing anything that makes economic sense.”
Richard added the tribe is “constantly having to fight these brushfires where there are always people, usually parimutuels, trying to find ways to infringe on the tribe’s exclusivity. That’s what designated player games are, that’s what pre-reveal games are, that’s what these slots referenda are. The Tribe’s position is, you want to make a deal? Close down all this other stuff. And don’t make us be constantly fighting to protect what we have.”
Tribal General Counsel Jim Shore backed up Richard, stating, “The tribe will never agree to anything that allows other counties to have Class III gaming, like slot machines and these so-called designated player games, and they will never agree to anything that infringes upon their exclusivity. They fought a lawsuit over that, they won, and they have the right to stop making payments.”
Galvano said, during the meeting with Seminole officials, the Voter Control of Gambling amendment “wasn’t even an elephant in the room. We talked about it straight away. They’re not taking for granted that the amendment or the expiration of the existing compact with the state is not necessarily their path to stability. They realize that to be in a stable environment, they have to work with us going forward.”
He added, “I’d rather, frankly, not have to deal with this issue next year. I believe the Speaker Designate OIiva feels the same way. It’s not just the gaming component of it but it’s also a significant part of our revenue, and revenue estimating going forward. So I’d rather us get it resolved.”
Corcoran noted he’d like his legacy to be gambling reform “so all the people who come after us don’t have to have this constant, perpetual fight over a massive expansion of gaming. I’d love to have that happen.”
