Seminole Tribe of Florida General Counsel Jim Shore recently told influential legislators passing fantasy sports bills in the 2018 legislative session would violate the tribe’s gambling compact. Shore sent letters to
state Senator Travis Hutson, chair of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, which oversees gambling issues, and state Rep. Mike La Rosa, chair of the House Tourism & Gaming Control Subcommittee, warning any violation of the compact “would allow the tribe to cease all revenue sharing payments to the state.” Currently the tribe pays the state more than $200 million a year for exclusive rights to blackjack and other games.
Shore expressed tribal leaders “remain willing” to discuss the DFS legislation, including state Rep. Jason Brodeur’s HB 223 and state Senator Dana Young’s SB 374 which would exempt fantasy sports play from state gambling regulation. Players argue DFS, played on websites like FanDuel and DraftKings, is a game of skill, not chance, and therefore should not be considered gambling. An estimated 3 million Floridians say they play some sort of fantasy sports.
Hutson also has sponsored SB 840, an omnibus gambling bill that says DFS is based on player performance, not team performance, and exempts from regulation any individual who is not “commissioner” of more than ten leagues.
A proposed omnibus gambling bill failed in the most recent legislative session.
