The Seminole Tribe of Florida has contributed $1 million to the Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee, according to a recently filed finance report.
The tribe’s contribution to the Florida governor’s committee was part of $2.225 million received from July 30 through August 5. The committee spent about the same amount during that period and reported $124.9 million in cash on hand as of August 5.
The DeSantis committee also received $400,000 from Sun Labs USA Inc. of Tampa during the period. The committee reported it gave $1 million to the Republican Party of Florida and paid $1 million to Ohio-based Flexpoint Media Inc. for media placement, according to the report.
Last year, DeSantis and the tribe negotiated and the legislature approved a compact allowing the Seminoles to operate sports betting in the state. However, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled on November 22 that the compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act since betting would occur off tribal property.
The tribe has appealed the judge’s ruling. However, it stopped making payments to the state in March, removing more than $463 million from the state budget this year, and more $500 million from future forecasts, according to the Revenue Estimating Conference.
