According to campaign finance reports, in October the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Disney Worldwide Services donated a combined .55 million to the political committee Voters In Charge, which seeks to place on the November 2018 ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that would give voters—not lawmakers–the “exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling” in the state.
Last month the Seminole Tribe contributed $1 million and Disney gave $550,000. The report also indicated Voters In Charge had raised $4.1 million as of October 31 and spent about $3.44 million.
Voters In Charge needs 766, 200 valid petition signatures to place the amendment on the ballot. It had submitted 391,783 valid petition signatures to the state as of Monday, November 13.
Voters In Charge Chairman John Sowinski said, “Our message of giving Florida voters, not politicians, the ultimate authority on gambling decisions is resonating throughout Florida. We are on target to complete our petition drive by year’s end, after which we will turn our full attention to building voter support for our amendment through a broad grassroots effort and robust statewide campaign.”
The Seminoles operate several casinos in the state and have exclusive rights to offer blackjack and other banked card games. However, in recent years legislators have considered allowing card rooms to offer similar games and also have proposed legislation permitting additional casinos.
