The many sides of the Seminole Compact
At stake are the fortunes and very futures of whole industries in Florida.
Anyone who thinks the new 30-year, multibillion-dollar Seminole Compact is a deal involving the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida is missing about 15 sides of the underway arguments that may be about to explode into shouting.
Fortunes and futures of whole Florida industries are on the line.
Come May 17, the Florida Legislature’s
Special Session will take on the interests of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, several national and international casino gambling corporations, the Seminoles’ two big casino operations, dozens of smaller casinos or game rooms, internet gambling, thoroughbred racing, harness racing, horse breeding, off-track horse or greyhound dog race betting, fantasy sports games outfits, South Florida development interests, opponents of gambling expansion in Florida, the Florida Constitution, and what’s left of the state’s once-iconi
The deal is expected to help the state recoup $2.5 billion over the next five years, according to the governor s office. The Legislature would have to ratify the compact, which could be done during a special session the week of May 17.
That all could be for naught, though. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland must first sign off on the agreement. If she does so, the deal will likely face a court challenge.
One court challenge may come from NoCasinos.org, the not-for-profit organization behind passage of Amendment 3 in 2018 requiring referendums on any future expansion of gambling.
Daniel Wallach, a Hallandale Beach attorney whose firm specializes in sports betting issues, said in an interview with The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week that no other state has been approved for sports betting in the way conceived in Florida. The compact between DeSantis and the Seminole tribe allows wagers beyond the bounds of the reservations.
Palm Beach Kennel Club president reacts to gambling agreement Share Updated: 8:33 AM EDT Apr 24, 2021 Share Updated: 8:33 AM EDT Apr 24, 2021
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Show Transcript IT’S A REAL GAME CHANGER FOR US. WE HAVEN’T HAD A NEW PRODUCT SINCE THE LATE 90‘S WHEN WE GOT CARD ROOMS. REPORTER: ON FRIDAY, FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS MADE A HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE FUTURE OF GAMING THOUGH A NEW COMPACT WITH THE SEMINOLE TRIB SPORTS BETTING REALLY IS GOING ON ALREADY. WHY DON’T WE COME TOGETHER, PUT SOME STRUCTURE TO THIS, AND LET IT BE DONE IN A WAY WHERE THE TRIBE IS IN CONTROL OF THE SPORTS, AND THE STATE IS ABLE TO SHARE WITH SOME GENEROUS REVENUE PAYMENTS. REPORTER: THE NEW 30 YEAR COMPACT WOULD ALLOW THE TRIBE TO OFFER SPORTS BETTING AT ITS CASINOS AND ALLOW LICENSES TO BUSINESSES LIKE THE PALM BEACH KENNEL CLUB FOR A PROFIT. WE GET A LITTLE PART OF THAT. THE REST OF IT GOES TO T SEMINOLES AND THEY GET A BIGGER PART OF IT. BUT I DON�
Judge Suzanne Van Wyk on Friday issued an 11-page order dismissing arguments by Daytona Beach Kennel Club Inc., which has fought a decision by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to allow the relocation of a long-existing gambling permit to the site of the planned facility in St. Johns County.
Bayard Raceways Inc. notified the department in July that it planned to relocate the permit to open a facility at an eight-acre site along Interstate 95 southwest of St. Augustine.
The permit was used in the past at a dog track in northern St. Johns County, though it had been more recently used through an arrangement with a track in neighboring Clay County. Louis Trombetta, director of the state department’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, signed off on the relocation Sept. 11. Daytona Beach Kennel Club Inc. contended in the challenge filed last month at the state Division of Administrative Hearings that regulators did not properly analyze the relocation plan
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