Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that ratifies a new gaming deal with the Seminole Tribe, paving the way for legal sports betting to begin in the Sunshine State following federal approval and barring any legal stumbling blocks.
DeSantis approved CS/SB 2A, which is implementation legislation for the gaming compact struck between the Seminole and the state. The bill was passed by the Florida legislature in a special session earlier this month.
The 30-year gaming compact announced by the governor and the Tribe back in April still has legal hurdles to clear but, among other things, it would allow the Seminole to offer craps and roulette at their casinos, as well as online and retail sports betting as early as October 15.
In return, the Tribe would resume making gaming-related payments to the state, including at least US$2.5 billion over the first five years of the deal.
“The breakdown of the 2010 compact has denied the state of Florida any revenue derived from the Seminole Tribe’s ongoing gaming operations — including what is the most profitable casino in the United States, located in Hillsborough County,” DeSantis said in a May 19 press release. “With this new compact, the state will now see a large stream of recurring revenue to the tune of billions of dollars over the next few years. The deal will also create over 2,000 jobs.”
Waiting on the feds
Florida’s new gaming compact would bring legal sports betting to the third-most populous state in the U.S., but only if the agreement earns federal approval and survives any legal challenges that may emerge. It would also put sports betting in the state firmly under the control of the casino-owning Seminole Tribe, which will partner with some pari-mutuel operators, such as race tracks.
A decision by the federal government on the gaming agreement could come this summer. The Secretary of the Interior has 45 days to approve or reject a proposed compact after receiving it; if no action is taken, it is approved by default.
In the meantime, preparations for legal sports betting are likely being made, as highlighted by the Seminole Tribe already touting its Hard Rock Sportsbook app to Florida residents.
Yet even if federal approval is given to the deal, it seems that the compact will still be the target of lawsuits over its constitutionality and legality. For example, an amendment to the state’s constitution that was approved in 2018 now requires voters to weigh in on any expansion of casino gambling in the state, which some see as happening under the new gaming deal.
“I think that any scenario in which somebody is voting up on this, and they think that they are not voting for the expansion of gaming, I don't think that's an intellectually honest position to take,” Democratic Rep. Michael Grieco said during debate on the compact's implementation legislation earlier this month. “We're going to be in court, we're going to lose, and we are going to see this on the ballot.”
Any concerns about possible lawsuits were not enough to stop the GOP-controlled legislature from approving the compact of fellow Republican DeSantis. Furthermore, the compact’s defenders say Florida's sports-betting model is built to withstand legal challenges.
'This is likely going to be litigated'
As currently proposed, legal sports betting in Florida would use a “hub-and-spoke” model that would revolve around the Seminole and use infrastructure located on their tribal lands.
“So long as the servers and the infrastructure associated with that process are physically located on tribal land pursuant to the hub-and-spoke model, yes, you would be able to participate in that no matter where you were physically within the state,” Republican Rep. Sam Garrison said during the May 19 debate on the compact legislation.
Garrison said the reason the sports-betting infrastructure has to be on tribal land is that the Florida constitution has a "specific carve-out" that would allow the state to avoid a referendum on casino gambling.
That legal theory looks like it is going to be tested, although even if parts of the compact were to be thrown out, it has a clause that would allow the rest of the agreement to live on.
“It doesn't take a master's degree to understand this is likely going to be litigated,” Garrison said. “If [sports betting] ultimately is struck down pursuant to that constitutional process, the severability clause allows the compact to remain intact.”
There would be room for others to get involved in sports betting in Florida, including outside gaming companies that could strike up business partnerships with the Seminole or pari-mutuel operators.
Wagers made on professional and college sporting events shall take place “exclusively by and through sports books conducted and operated by the Seminole Tribe,” a state Senate staff analysis of the implementation bill explains.
The Tribe, however, must also partner with any willing and qualified pari-mutuel permit holders that want to get involved. The pari-mutuels could provide the front-end of the operation — performing “marketing and similar services in support of the sports books,” the analysis notes — in exchange for at least 60 percent of the profit they bring in through their website or mobile app.
“Such wagering is to be deemed to be exclusively conducted by the Seminole Tribe where the servers or other devices used to conduct such wagering activity on the Seminole Tribe’s Indian lands are located,” the Senate analysis adds.
