Florida Voters Gain Control of Casino Gambling Initiative. By Space Coast Daily // July 5, 2018. The future of Florida’s gambling industry may be put into the hands of the public following a. Florida is one of the states that is yet to legalize sports betting, having made several unsuccessful legislative attempts so far.

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After a huge U.S. Supreme Court decision today, gambling on sports might be legal in some states in time for this fall’s NFL season. But Florida won't be one of them.

That's because approval by the state Legislature, a constitutional amendment, and sports betting's impact on an existing agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida stand in the way of legally laying down a wager on the latest Miami Dolphins game.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 today to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a 1992 law barring states from legalizing gambling on sports. The ruling left Nevada as the only state where Americans could wager on the results of a single game.

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Gaming-law experts had been predicting this outcome since the case was first heard in December, and some states had even begun putting procedures in place to quickly regulate bets on sports. The West Virginia Legislature, for example, conditionally approved sports gambling and has a regulatory system already in place. Mississippi also passed a bill, with regulations to come.

Fort Lauderdale lawyer Daniel Wallach, who predicted the 6-3 vote by the justices, says he wouldn't be surprised if Mississippi moved fast enough to allow betting on this NFL season. More than a dozen other states have sports wagering in the pipeline.

Then there’s Florida. Let’s knock out the more obvious roadblocks first: The state Legislature is not even in session until next year, and a simple vote for approval might face a fight in Tallahassee, where gambling votes are never simple.

This November 6, voters will also decide on Amendment 3, which basically puts all decisions to expand gambling up to a constitutional amendment. Sports betting sure looks like “gambling expansion” under that definition, so if Amendment 3 passes — and polls show it probably will — the public will have a say in approving sports betting in the Sunshine State.

But the greater challenge in Florida, and many other states, will be reconciling existing agreements, which are called compacts, with Native American tribes. In Florida, the Seminole Tribe pays more than $250 million per year to have exclusive rights to slots outside of South Florida (the Tampa area is the Tribe's biggest moneymaker) and to conduct table games at all of its casinos. South Florida racetrack casinos can offer only slots and poker. The compact can be voided, though, if there is gambling expansion.

Native American tribes, many of whom have compacts guaranteeing them some sort of exclusivity, have seen this ruling coming. At the National Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow & Convention this past April in Las Vegas, speakers devoted quite a bit of time to playing the what-if game.

“The challenge will be what your current compact allows and how the negotiations go,” said Conrad Granito, general manager of the tribal Muckleshoot Casino in Washington state. In addition to the latest Supreme Court ruling, legalized internet and mobile gambling probably aren’t far away, which would again challenge the concept of exclusivity.

Some experts expect that a dedicated sports book would be created in fewer than 100 of the approximately 480 tribal gambling operations in 28 states. That’s because so many tribal casinos are just too small. Of the more than $30 billion in revenue produced by Indian gaming, only a couple dozen casinos are responsible for about three-fourths of the haul.

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Jonodev Chaudhuri, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, was coy about whether local tribes would be interested in sports betting during a talk at a meeting of the National Council of Legislators From Gaming States this past January in Miami. He noted that for many tribes, adding another gambling enterprise — one that doesn’t make that much money, really — could be a difficult sell. Chaudhuri notes that most of the tribal facilities basically provide essential revenue for the well-being of tribes.

“They’re basically jobs programs located in rural communities,” he said, adding that sports betting is a low-margin business. The house keeps only 5 percent of the amount bet and must pay staffing and other essentials.

Inside the casino world, the American Gaming Association has made legalizing sports gambling its pet issue for about two years. So today is the company's payday.

But for the general public, there are many details left to be handled. A solid guess is you’ll be able to place a legal sports bet in South Florida around the same time the Miami Marlins vie for a pennant.

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This November, Floridavoters have a constitutional amendment on the ballot–Amendment 3. The issue is “voter control of gambling in Florida.”

Supporters of the liberalization of gambling–and especially online gambling–may mistake this for a pro-gambling amendment. According to big operators like DraftKingsand FanDuel, nothing could be further from the truth.

The sponsors behind the measure tell you all there is to know–Disney and the Seminole Tribe. Both have been longtime opponents of any expansion of gambling in Florida.

The Seminole Tribe hands over $250 million a year to the state government in return for what is almost a monopoly on gambling in the state.

Disney is opposed on principle, but additionally doesn’t want to see any more competition for its Disneyworld theme park.

Gaming companies oppose the amendment

The Tampa Bay Times reports that the “Voters In Charge” committee has spent over $31 million to promote the amendment. Committee Chair John Sowinski positioned the issue as a right for voters to control gambling.

“This comes down to, who do you trust: the voters or the politicians and the gambling lobbyists? Their burden is to suggest with a straight face that things are better in the hands of politicians and the lobbyists who contribute to them and who influence them.”

Opposition to the amendment is led by “Citizens for the Truth about Amendment 3” and “Vote No on 3.”

They are supported by the pari-mutuels and racinos together with international operators like DraftKings. According to them, supporting amendment three is going to hand control over to the Seminole Tribe.

The argument is that no further gambling expansion will occur if the people have to vote on it directly. That means that only the gambling under Seminole control will continue to be allowed.

At the moment, Florida pari-mutuel cardrooms host “designated player” card games. The Seminole Tribe objects to this, saying that the games breach their exclusive rights.

Jamie Shelton, president of pari-mutuel bestbet Jacksonville stated:

“Amendment 3 will clearly eliminate designated player games in cardrooms throughout the state of Florida. Period.”

A federal judge has ruled with the Seminoles, so depending on appeals, it is likely that these games will have to stop. And if amendment three passes, there will be no new legislation enacted to provide alternatives.

Amendment 3 could end hopes of legal sports betting

State Senate President Bill Galvano told The News Service of Florida that legal sports betting could create huge revenues. He believes that amendment 3 would kill all hope of sports betting legalization:

“The revenues are substantial. If Amendment 3 is passed, we’d lose that opportunity and we’re hamstrung.”

Florida has not had much success with legislation to expand gambling in recent years. In 2014, the legislature failed to pass Senate Bill 7052 which would have expanded legalized gambling.

The bill included text for:

• The creation of a gaming control board;
• Increased authority, control, and enforcement over gaming by the regulatory agency;
• Authorizing the governor to renegotiate the gaming compact with the Seminoles;
• Consolidating all forms of gaming other than the lottery into a single statutory chapter;
• Authorizing the possibility of two destination casinos in Miami-Dade and Broward County; and
• Reduced requirements for operating a poker room.

In 2018, Florida is looking at three pieces of legislation, all to do with daily fantasy sports (DFS):

Casino Vote Florida

• H223House Bill sponsored by Rep. Jason Brodeur–defines DFS and proposes its removal from gambling statutes.
• S374 sponsored by Sen. Dana Young–a Senate version of H223 with some minor changes.
• S840 introduced by Sen. Travis Hutson–an omnibus bill to overhaul almost all of Florida’s gaming legislation.

Gambling Vote In Florida

None of these bills looks like it will proceed this year. If the constitutional amendment gets the 60 percent of votes it needs, they will probably not proceed at all.