On October 30, the day the banked card game provision of the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s compact expired, state gambling regulators demanded that the tribe shut down its black tables immediately. Because the state has no legal jurisdiction over tribal land, it asked a federal judge to order the tribe to remove the games, alleging it in violation of state and federal law. Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Ken Lawson said in a statement, “As of today, under the existing compact, the Seminole Tribe of Florida is now illegally operating their banked card games. In accordance with the existing compact, the state is asking the court to order the tribe to cease operations.”
The Seminoles then filed their own lawsuit in federal court, stating the blackjack tables can remain open, even though the deadline passed, since state regulators breeched the agreement by allowing South Florida racetracks to offer electronic versions of the card games. Tribal spokesman Gary Bitner added the state is negotiating in good faith, because they have asked for more money from the Seminoles “without a proportionate increase in economic benefit to the tribe.”
Under the expired provision, executed in 2010, the state granted the tribe exclusive rights to blackjack and other card games at five casinos–three Broward County, plus Immokalee and Tampa–in exchange for $1 billion over five years. Under a new deal offered last by Governor Rick Scott, the Seminoles would have been allowed to extend the compact and add roulette and craps at their South Florida casinos, plus build a casino at the Fort Pierce reservation, in return for $2 billion over seven years. However, the arrangement was opposed by legislators. Meanwhile, Scott has said he would “do the right thing for our state.”
