The Florida State Senate has decided to move ahead with the establishment of a Florida Gaming Commission despite the fact that the federal court struck down the state’s 2021 compact to expand gambling.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida with the help of the Department of Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice, is currently appealing the November 22nd ruling, but no timeline has been given on a decision.
However, senators feel confident that a decision will go their way and have forged ahead with plans for the state’s first gaming commission. The state’s gambling laws are currently regulated by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), but that department will now transfer its powers and responsibilities to the new commission.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida’s gambling operations are regulated by federal Indian gaming laws while compacts can be negotiated between the state and the tribe. These compacts can allow tribal gaming to take place beyond the usual confines of tribal properties in exchange for agreed-upon payments to the state.
The existing compact between the state and the tribe was adopted in 2010 permitting the Seminole tribe to have the exclusive rights to certain types of gambling. The agreement saw the tribe pay the state $350 million per year for those rights. However, in 2019, the tribe stopped making its annual payments saying that the state had reneged on the deal.
As a result, a new compact was agreed with different rules. These included giving the tribe exclusive rights to sports betting in Florida for a period of 30 years. This was opposed by racetracks and local businesses that didn’t want to see a potential sports betting market become a monopoly.
This led to the federal court striking down the compact in 2021 on the grounds that it violated federal laws on Indian gaming.
Despite this ruling the Senate has voted 37-2 on the Gaming Commission legislation. The Commission will consist of five members, subject to Senate approval.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has already appointed three members for the five-person Commission — DBPR Secretary Julie Brown and two former DBPT executives, Charles Drago and Michael Yaworsky.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.