Florida voters simply made it harder to alter its laws concerning gaming. What does that mean to the future of sports gambling from the state?
Florida and Amendment 3
On election night, as the majority of the nation was observing to see if there was going to become an ideological shift in Congress, many in the gaming industry were seeing another race in Florida.
This race did not entail the election of an individual; the race was for Florida Amendment 3, a ballot measure that could change the power from legislators to voters to authorize new casino gambling in the state.
The language of the measure has been as follows:
“This amendment ensures that Florida voters will have the exclusive right to choose whether to authorize casino gaming by requiring that in order for casino gambling to be authorized under Florida law, it has to be approved by Florida voters pursuant to Article XI, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution. Affects articles X and XI. Defines casino gaming and explains that this amendment doesn’t conflict with federal legislation concerning state/tribal compacts.”
Where did the gaming amendment come out of?
Only two counties in Florida allow for”card games, casino games, casino games, and slot machines” at non-tribal owned centers.
In 2004, before the present tribal compacts, under the watch of then-Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida voters in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties handed a ballot initiative that enabled for slot machines at racing and jai-alai facilities, which had operated in the 2 decades prior.
The amendment effectively means that in order for the state to expand casino gaming past the tribal casinos and existing racing and pari-mutuel centers, voters in Florida would need to initiate the procedure by collecting enough signatures to get the petition added to a ballot.
“In Florida, the number of signatures required to get an initiative is equivalent to 8% of the votes cast in the preceding presidential election. Florida also has a signature supply requirement, which requires that signatures equivalent to 8% of the district-wide vote in at least half (14) of the nation’s 27 congressional districts must be gathered.”
For reference, the 2016 Presidential election had 9,419,886 votes cast. Eight percent of the vote total is 753,591 signatures needed in order to acquire a casino expansion measure on a future ballot. This is an intimidating task, without considering the need for geographic distribution, which can be required.
There are, however, a couple of Florida-based groups that might have the ability to back a campaign of adequate size to collect these votes at one time in the future. Two which come into mind are Disney and the Seminole Tribe. Really, the two Disney and the Seminoles were major backers for departure Amendment 3, allegedly putting in tens of millions of dollars to encourage the measure’s passage.
The opposition saw support from smaller gambling suppliers including West Flagler Associates and Hialeah Park, in addition to the Miami Dolphins, that (in)famously tweeted out an image that indicated the passage of Amendment 3″would block any chance for lawful sports betting from Florida.”
In the event the language of Amendment 3 appears complicated, that is as it’s. The language employed in the Amendment scored a grade-level rank of 24 (the equivalent of having 24 years of formal schooling or sufficient time to make a Ph.D.) according to Ballotpedia, which positions the readability of all ballot measures. Amendment 3 was worded more complexly than many others, with the average ballot scoring between 19-20.
It does not take a Ph.D. to realize that the Amendment doesn’t mention sports. So, does this mean that Florida can start sports gambling soon?
Not really.
What is’casino gambling’?
According to Ballotpedia, Amendment 3 defines casino gaming since card games, casino games and slot machines. There’s absolutely no mention of sports betting. Therefore, while it may appear that Amendment 3 leaves open the question of whether Florida can provide sports betting, it fails the far bigger problem, that the State of Florida has a Class III gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe.
Sports gambling is Class III gambling based on this Federal Register:
Class III gaming means all forms of gaming that are not class I gaming or class II gaming, including but not Limited to:
(a) Any home banking game, such as but not limited to —
(1) Card games like baccarat, chemin de fer, blackjack (21), and pai gow (if performed house banking matches );
(2) Casino games such as craps, blackjack, and keno;
(b) Any slot machines as defined in 15 U.S.C. 1171(a)(1) and electronic or electromechanical facsimiles of any game of chance;
(c) Any sports betting and parimutuel wagering including but not Limited to wagering on horse racing, dog racing or jai alai; or
(d) Lotteries.
While Amendment 3 does not restrict sports gambling, the present compact between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida could impose some limitations.
What’s from the Florida gaming streamlined?
The Compact, which was signed in 2010 between the Seminole Tribe and the state (it had been amended in 2015 to add authorization for extra games), stated:
“It is in the best interests of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida for the State to enter into a compact with the Tribe that recognizes the Tribe’s right to provide certain Class III gambling and supplies substantial exclusivity of these actions in conjunction with a reasonable revenue sharing agreement between the Tribe and the State that will entitle the State to significant earnings participation.”
From the”Covered Games” part of this compact, there is no mention of sports gambling, but There’s a statement that might seem to cover sports betting as inside the coated games segment:
“Any fresh game authorized by Florida law for any person for any use, except for banked card games approved for any other federally recognized tribe pursuant to [the] Indian Gambling Regulatory Act, provided the tribe has property in federal trust in the State at February 1, 2010.”
The tribe and the state agreed that the”Tribe is authorized to run Covered Games on Indian Lands….” While Section IV of the compact excludes a number of games including roulette and craps (that were then allowed) there is no mention of sports betting, as explicitly excluded.
The streamlined identifies seven Seminole-owned casinos that could be expanded or replaced but does not authorize new construction outside the existing lands. In addition to abiding by state-sanctioned gaming rules, the tribe, in exchange for”tight but substantial exclusivity,” agreed to pay:
$12.5 million per month during the first 24 weeks of the arrangement;
After that, 12 percentage of net wins on all sums up to $2 billion;
15 percent on net wins between $2 and $3 billion;
17.5 percent on internet wins between $3 billion and $3.5 billion;
Up to 25 percent on all levels larger than $4.5 billion each earnings sharing cycle.
These obligations are due on the 15th of each month for twenty years by the initiation of this compact.
What about online gaming?
For those expecting for online gambling, there’s a clause in the compact that says if the state law has been changed to offer online gambling and tribal gambling revenue drops more than five percent from the past twelve months, the tribe has to substantially decrease their payments to the state under the bonded minimums. Butthis will not apply if the tribe provides online gambling, subject to state consent.
In the event that the Seminole Tribe loses exclusivity, the state of Florida will be looking for a new source of revenue. Part XII Section A. of the Compact states:
“If, after February 1, 2010, Florida legislation is amended by action of the Florida Legislature or an amendment to the Florida Constitution to permit (1) the performance of Class III gaming or other casino-style gaming at any location under the jurisdiction of this State that was not in operation at February 1, 2010, or (2) new forms of Class III gambling or other casino-style gaming that were not in operation as of February 1, 2010.”
If this occur, the tribe is eligible to stop some of their obligations until such gambling is no longer operated. Similarly, if present non-tribal facilities in Broward and Miami-Dade counties extend their Course III offerings, the Seminole Tribe can decrease some of their payments to the country also.
So, about sports gambling…
It is not likely that Florida will observe sports gambling being offered by any thing apart from the Seminole Tribe.
The gambling compact negotiated between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida is lucrative for the state and extremely helpful for the tribe. For an summary of how rewarding this compact is to get the State of Florida at 2016, the Seminole Tribe paid over $300 million to the nation. The likelihood that Florida would undermine even a portion of those payments to authorize something that would generate as little extra state revenue as sports betting is extremely unlikely.
While Florida sports gambling fans shouldn’t hold their breath for widespread legal sports gambling, the Seminole Tribe could, under the compact, receive the ability to offer it in their seven casinos. While the Seminole Tribe has expressed an interest in being able to offer sports gambling at its Florida Hard Rock possessions, they have been silent on the issue within the state of Florida.
Amendment 3 didn’t foreclose on any hope of sports gambling in Florida. But under the present gaming compact provisions, it would seem to be a costly undertaking for state lawmakers to permit someone other than the Seminole Tribe to provide it exclusively, a decision that would surely render facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties unhappy.
Read more: mvcstcharles.com
