As the April 30 end of the Florida legislative session approaches, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has rejected a gaming compact that would have allowed the tribe to control sports betting in exchange for a allowing a new casino in Miami Beach and paying millions of dollars to the state.
Observers said the major obstacle was the Seminoles’ and parimutuel operators’ disagreement on their share of sports betting revenue. Earlier, Governor Ron DeSantis said he was open to negotiating a new deal with the Seminoles, “but at the same time, we are not in a position where we’re desperately needing additional revenue.”
Under the proposed compact, the tribe would control sports betting in Florida through a hub-and-spokes system. Sports bets would be received and processed through servers located at tribal casinos; gamblers would place their bets at casinos, professional sports events, racetracks or poker rooms. Professional sports franchises would have been allowed to open sportsbooks at their venues. Pro sports franchises and parimutuels would receive a cut of the sports betting revenue.
The American Gaming Association has estimated legalizing sports betting in Florida could produce more than $110 million in annual tax revenue. Florida could possibly rival Nevada as the biggest gambling tourist destination. Daniel Wallach, a Hallandale Beach lawyer who specializes in sports and gaming law, said, “Florida has the potential to really be a true sports gaming destination. Florida’s metrics–third highest population size, the fact that it draws in excess of 100 million visitors annually, along with the warm weather and the fact that the peak betting periods in U.S. sports are the winter months—make it a perfect storm for sports betting success.”
The proposed compact also included an agreement that the Seminoles would not oppose a new Miami Beach casino permit for real estate mogul Jeffrey Soffer, who would have been allowed to transfer his casino license for Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach to his Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. DeSantis, who reportedly worked on a gaming compact with the tribe for several weeks, approved of the transfer but Miami-Dade and Miami Beach county officials have long opposed a new casino and said the license transfer violates the state constitution. The cities of Miami Beach and Coral Gables have passed resolutions opposing gambling expansion in their communities.
The proposed compact also required the tribe to drop its objection to designated-player card games offered at existing parimutuels and resume making annual payments to the state for the next 30 years. The Seminoles stopped paying $350 million annually to the state in 2017, after the tribe sued the state and a judge ruled designated player games did indeed violate the 2010 Seminole compact. Then-Governor Charlie Crist and lawmakers negotiated that compact, giving the tribe exclusive rights to operate banked card games, like blackjack, in exchange for a minimum annual payment of $150 million to the state.
One important consideration is the constitutional amendment passed in 2018 requiring voter approval of any gambling expansion. John Sowinski, director of No Casinos, the group behind the petition drive to get the amendment on the ballot, said, “The bottom line is, the voters just spoke. If sports betting is so wildly popular and everybody wants to do it, what’s wrong with just asking voters to decide? What are they afraid of?”
Meanwhile, the Florida Senate Regulated Industries Committee recently approved two gambling-related bills. SPB 7076 would create a 5-member Gaming Control Commission to oversee and regulate gambling operations in the state. And SPB 7080 would decouple jai alai or live horseracing from card room games.
In 2018, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment banning live greyhound racing, yet allowing the tracks to offer card games and slots. The current decoupling plan would allow venues in Broward and Miami-Dade counties to offer slots or poker games instead of harness racing, jai alai and quarter-horse racing. The measure would not affect Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs.
Not everyone praised the legislation. Senator Ray Rodrigues questioned why thoroughbred tracks would be required to offer live racing while harness racing (offered only at Isle Casino Pompano) could end. He said he believes the quarter horse and standard quarter horse races and jai alai meets are “just going through the motions” while he considers thoroughbred races as legitimate and competitive.
Rodrigues voted in favor of the bill although he said he had reservations about it. “The testimony we’ve heard today does concern me, particularly because I think harness racing is still legitimate racing,” he said.
Mike Rogers, president of the Stronach Group, owners of Gulfstream Park, added, “The consequences of creating an uneven playing field among slot permit holders would be devastating to the Florida thoroughbred industry, which is one of the largest agricultural sectors in the state of Florida,” Rogers noted Florida first authorized parimutuel wagering in 1921. “We’re very concerned that this path could jeopardize thoroughbred racing on its 100th anniversary,” he said.
Committee Chairman and bill sponsor, state Rep. Travis Hutson, was asked to explain the “thought process” behind allowing harness racing to decouple. He said thoroughbred track owners did not want to be included in the decoupling plan but harness-racing permit holders “did not have that same vibe. They were kind of 50-50 on whether they wanted to be decoupled or not,” Hutson said.
Lauren Jackson, a lobbyist for the Florida Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association, noted harness racing or standardbred racing “enjoys a tradition in Florida that is over half a century long, and it’s doing quite well. If the casino that holds the sole harness-racing permit is allowed to decouple, the entire industry would be left with nowhere in the state.”
Hutson stated, “Decoupling and a gaming commission are two things the tribe is not opposed to and we think they are important. We hope the governor and tribe will come together and resolve their issues in the next 72 hours to a week and we’ll have some new progress.”
