Florida Lawmakers Set to Introduce Sweeping Gambling Reforms

Information provided by Senate leaders has indicated that when the next legislative session opens in January, lawmakers will be looking to introduce sweeping gambling reforms in Florida. Rather than simply focusing on a betting contract with the Seminole Tribe, the state will be attempting to pass a wider gambling bill in order to raise more revenue.

Securing cross-party agreement for gambling legislation has proved to be an insurmountable challenge for the state in recent years but the Florida Senate President and House Speaker outlined the urgency in exploring new options.

Discord with the Seminole Tribe 

During the 2019 legislative session, the state of Florida failed to reach an agreement with the Seminole Tribe and put an end to the ongoing dispute. The Seminoles have issued legal proceedings against the state, claiming that their rights under the 2010 compact have been violated, something the state disputes.

The original compact from 2010 handed the Seminoles exclusive rights to operate blackjack within Florida, and in return the tribe agreed to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

However, Florida pari-mutuels were permitted to also offer card games which the Seminole Tribe said breached the compact. Despite protestations from the state, a federal judge agreed with the Seminoles and said that the games being offered by the Florida pari-mutuels were not in keeping with the original compact terms.

As a result of this ruling and Florida’s refusal to stop the illegal card games, the Seminole Tribe have withheld gambling revenue for the year and say they will not pay any further sums until the compact is honoured.

Huge Loss of Revenue

The fallout with the Seminole Tribe has left Florida with a substantial hole in its budget, losing minimum of $350 million. A new compact was drafted which would have increased the revenue to $500 million and given the Seminoles back exclusivity, but the governor for the state has refused to sign off the deal as he believes other options should be explored first.

Senate President Galvano has said that during next year’s legislative session, they would be exploring all possible opportunities for gambling and would attempt to avoid what he described as the “cloud of exclusivity”.

Things may not go quite as smoothly as he hopes however as new laws mean that voters in the state will get a final say. New constitutional changes hands the decision on gambling to the electorate who will have the chance to vote before new laws are implemented.