U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle recently ruled in favor of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, declaring the tribe can keep blackjack tables at its seven casinos. Hinkle said state regulators working under Governor Rick Scott allowed dog and horse racetracks to put offer electronic card games similar to those that had been offered exclusively at Seminole casinos for five years. Hinkle wrote, since the state allowed this exclusivity to be “easily evaded,” the tribe could keep its blackjack tables for another 14 years.
Seminole spokesman Gary Bitner said, “The Seminole Tribe is very pleased with Judge Hinkle’s ruling and is carefully reviewing it. The tribe believes the ruling provides for its future stability and ensures 3,600 Seminole Gaming employees will keep their jobs.”
Jackie Schutz, a spokeswoman for Scott, said attorneys for the state also were reviewing the ruling and considering their next steps.
At issue was a provision in the 2010 tribal compact allowing the tribe exclusive rights to have blackjack at its casinos plus slot machines at most of its locations. The arrangement has generated $1.7 billion in tribal revenues for the state. However, when the blackjack provision expired in 2015, as dog and horse tracks lobbied for expansion, the Florida legislature rejected a new proposed compact that also would have allowed the tribe to offer craps and roulette.
Following the failure of the new agreement, the state and tribe sued each other in late 2015. The tribe said the state did not negotiate in good faith, and the Scott administration asked a federal judge to order the removal of the blackjack tables. That led to a three-day trial in early October, during which Hinkle expressed dismay over state regulators’ explanations. In his ruling, Hinkle wrote some of the activities permitted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation were “egregious.”
Still, the Seminoles and the state could return to the negotiating table. Seminole Gaming Chief Executive Officer Jim Allen said the tribe has had a good relationship with the state and would like it to continue.
