At the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, Florida, Circuit Judge John Cooper recently switched his earlier opinion and declared pre-reveal gambling games actually are illegal slot machines. Cooper said he was “wrong the first time around.” Previously Cooper said the machines look and play like slot machines but don’t fit the legal definition of gambling because players always know if he they are a winner or loser.
But the Seminole Tribe of Florida said Cooper’s first decision broke the 2010 compact granting the tribe exclusive rights to offer certain gambling in return for revenue sharing with the state. The tribe said the machines are slots, which violates the exclusivity provision and entitles the tribe to stop sharing “multi-billions of dollars” in revenue. Tribal attorney Barry Richard said Cooper did not understand how the pre-reveal games work. “The player is not wagering for the already revealed outcome, but rather on the next outcome, which is unknown,” Richard said.
After reversing his ruling, Cooper said he was not influenced by the Seminoles. Instead, he said additional arguments about how pre-reveal games actually play let him to change his mind. At one point Cooper used an example of LeBron James shooting free throws to illustrate the difference between skill and chance.
Kathey Bright Fanning, president of Gator Coin II, which distributes the pre-reveal machines, said she was “disappointed” with the judge’s changed opinion. “They’re wrong. The tribe is wrong,” she said.
