Florida lawmakers have begun their work on an agreement that would legalize sports betting in the Sunshine State, but only if it can successfully run a gauntlet of politicians, anti-gambling groups, and potential legal challenges.
The gaming compact struck between Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida in April would allow for betting on professional and collegiate sports both online and in-person. It would mostly do so using sportsbooks operated by the Tribe, which will also partner with pari-mutuel permit holders such as race tracks.
Florida’s GOP-controlled legislature began a special session on Monday in Tallahassee to review the compact and legislation related to its provisions. The proposed 30-year gaming deal goes beyond just sports betting and is projected to generate at least US$2.5 billion in revenue for the state over its first five years.
“The legislation proposed for Special Session A comprehensively addresses gaming issues raised for almost a decade by ratifying the 2021 Compact, updating Florida law to better reflect the current gaming climate, combating illegal gambling through a new Gaming Control Commission, and offering additional games allowable under Florida’s Constitution,” Senate President Wilton Simpson said in a May 14 memorandum.
Work to do
Legislation to implement Florida's proposed gaming compact was approved by the Senate's appropriations committee on Monday with amendments, but it will still have to head to the floor of the chamber for further approval. That progress will have to be matched by the state's House of Representatives, which had a subcommittee dedicated to the compact advance implementation legislation on Monday.
Even with the backing of the governor, legislature and Tribe, the compact will also require the approval of the United States Department of the Interior. It could still face legal challenges as well over whether it violates a 2018 amendment to the state’s constitution, which requires voters to sign off on the expansion of casino gambling.
The group No Casinos, for example, is opposed to the compact, which it calls "the largest expansion of gambling in Florida," and that it argues violates the state constitution and federal law. The Miami Herald's capitol bureau chief, Mary Ellen Klas, also tweeted Monday that former governor Jeb Bush opposes the gaming agreement.
But if the compact is approved, it would bring sports betting to the third-most populous state in the U.S., making Florida the largest state to date in terms of population to have legalized such activity.
Gov. DeSantis already tweaked the compact with the Seminole Tribe, Senator Travis Hutson told the chamber's appropriations committee on Monday, including to make October 15 as the date on which sports betting could officially start happening.
"That gives us time to put some checks and balances on the system without stressing the system," Sen. Hutson said.
Sports betting in Florida would be limited to those 21 years of age or older. It would also be in a form that would be mostly run by the casino-owning Seminole Tribe, which would contract and partner with "willing" and qualified pari-mutuel permit holders. Additional business relationships could be formed with other gaming companies, but all roads would lead back to the Tribe.
"The way I explain it to people is there's a skin that is the front-end, which would either be the pari-mutuel and/or the tribe, and on the back-end, it's all linked to the tribal server," Sen. Hutson told the committee.
Trying to strike a balance
Backers of the compact likely see things differently when it comes to its legality as well.
For instance, a Senate analysis of SB 2A, which would ratify the deal, suggested the constitutional amendment may not apply to sports betting, as “wagering on sporting events does not constitute the playing of a ‘game,’ is not a ‘device’ as described in Amendment 3, and is not typically found in a casino.”
Sports betting is, however, included among certain activities captured by the amendment’s definition of casino gambling, the analysis noted.
“In total, the proposed gaming legislation seeks to balance the requirements of federal Indian gaming law, the complex pari-mutuel regulatory structure established over decades, and the need to better enforce restrictions against illegal gaming, all while adhering to the new constitutional restrictions on casino-style gaming,” Simpson wrote in his memo.
