The Florida legislative session will end March 13, but House Speaker José Oliva said it’s unlikely lawmakers will finalize a compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida before then.
However, Oliva said it is “inevitable” the session will run overtime because of delays in reaching agreement on a budget. Observers said the issue of gambling revenue has taken on more urgency as lawmakers negotiate a 2020-2021 budget and as the state faces unexpected expenses due to the coronavirus. Oliva said, “Logistically, it’s very difficult” to reach an agreement with the tribe by the end of the session. “I wouldn’t say that it’s dead, but for the regular scheduled session, next Friday the 13th, probably difficult,” he noted.
Still, Senate President Bill Galvano, who helped pass a 2010 agreement with the tribe, and Governor Ron DeSantis both said there was hope that a new compact agreement could be negotiated. Galvano said lawmakers had “made progress internally, and we are now engaged in negotiations with the tribe.” Tribal officials until now had remained on the sidelines while House and Senate negotiators discussed options.
DeSantis said “there’s a good chance” that agreement can be achieved. “I hope we get to a deal there. But again, I’d rather have a good deal and do it a few days later, or even you can even bring people back potentially, than try to force things under an artificial timeline,” referring to the possibility of a special session.
Oliva said negotiations were “moving slowly” because those involved want a proposal “that addresses the main concerns that have broken down negotiations in the past,” referring to “some of the existing games”–like designated player card games, the basis of ongoing legal battles between the tribe and state–and “whether some of those existing games create a violation of the 2010 compact or not. Those are sticking points.”
Oliva noted, “Rather than try to roll something out with only a few days left in session, we’re trying to have conversations about these things in a way that, if we can reach agreement on how they should be possibly pursued, then maybe we could put a piece of legislation forward to go to committees, to be vetted that way and then brought to the floor,” he said.
Observers said proposed legislation would require the tribe to pay $500 million in the first year and eventually up to $700 million in annual payments. The proposal would allow the tribe to add craps and roulette to its casino games, which currently includes slot machines and banked card games like blackjack. In addition, the Seminoles would have exclusive rights to offer online sports betting; players could place wagers on the online sites from anywhere in the state. In addition, the tribe could add one or two casinos in Broward County, where it already operates the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. Sources said the tribe also wants online casinos, which would be a huge expansion of gambling; so far, legislators are resisting this.
Under the state’s proposal, parimutuel cardrooms could continue to offer controversial and lucrative designated player card games—which could be a deal-breaker for the tribe. Parimutuel cardrooms, particularly those outside of Miami-Dade and Broward counties, are not allowed to have slot machines, so they rely on the designated-player games as major revenue sources. Parimutuel operators claim thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in revenue would be lost if they games were prohibited.
A federal judge ruled the designated player games violated the 2010 compact which gave the tribe exclusive rights to offer banked card games. That agreement expired in 2015. Then-Governor Rick Scott negotiated an agreement with the tribe to continue to pay the state $350 million a year. But last May the Seminoles stopped making the payments after DeSantis rejected a potential deal arranged with state Senator Wilton Simpson, stating he needed more time to review the proposal.
A source close to the negotiations who requested anonymity said, “My guess is the tribe is analyzing whether the additional games authorized under the deal are worth the requested payment to the state versus having no new compact and paying nothing to the state.” The source, a lobbyist, said it was doubtful that lawmakers would come back for a special session on gambling. “Anything is possible. But typically deals come together while in the pressure-cooker of the legislative session. Once these members go home to their districts, the will to act and leverage tend to dissipate.”
The lobbyist said if the tribe rejects a deal, the state would have to make a “bold move to bring the tribe to the table in earnest.” That could include allowing parimutuels to offer games that the Seminoles exclusively offer now, or authorizing sports betting. But a constitutional amendment voters approved in 2018 could complicate matters, especially in regard to sports betting. The amendment, primarily financed by the Seminoles and Disney Worldwide Services Inc., gave voters the “exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling,” removing legislative control.
