Gaming compact between Florida and Seminole Tribe goes into effect; opponents file lawsuits in state and federal court – Ballotpedia News

Florida signed a gaming pact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida in April 2021 that gave the tribe the exclusive opportunity to conduct sports betting in the state. Under the contract, the tribe is allowed to conduct sports betting and must share the revenue with the state of Florida for the next 30 years through 2051. The revenue-sharing guarantee was set at $ 2.5 billion for the first five years, with expected revenue for the state totaling $ 6 billion through 2030. Under the treaty, sports betting should be available online and at pari-mutuel facilities to everyone in the state, and would be viewed “at all times as being carried out exclusively by the tribe in its facilities”. where the sports bets and servers are located. The pact was deemed approved and was published in the federal register by the Ministry of Interior for Indian Affairs on August 11, 2021.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), passed by the United States Congress in 1988, allowed tribes to establish casino gambling on tribal land and allowed states to enter into treaties with tribes to regulate gambling. The IGRA requires that all gaming activities provided for by gaming contracts between Indian tribes and state governments take place only on Indian land, defined as “all lands within the boundaries of an Indian reservation.” Florida’s 2021 contract with the Seminole Tribe contains a severability clause which provides that “[i]If at no time are the tribe legally allowed to offer sports betting to customers physically located in the state but not in Indian territory, “then the rest of the pact would remain in effect, meaning that sports betting would then only be available in tribal areas would be.

On July 2, 2021, West Flagler Associates (Magic City Casino) and Bonita Springs Poker Room filed a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida Tallahassee Division, alleging the treaty would illegally allow online sports betting from anywhere in the state. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs wrote: “The ‘assumption’ that the bet was placed on Indian land because the servers are located there contradicts decades of proven precedent for interpreting the applicable federal law. Contrary to the legal fiction created by the Compact and Implementation Act 2021, a bet is placed where the bettor and the casino are located. “

After the deal was approved, the casinos filed a second lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the US Department of the Interior. They alleged that approving the pact violated federal laws, including bank wire laws, “by illegally making internet and bank wire transfer of transactions and payments related to sports betting between the tribe’s reservations and the rest of Florida, where sports betting is otherwise illegal allows”. They also argued that the contract violated the equality clause of the fifth amendment by allowing the Seminole tribe to conduct online sports betting in Florida when it would be illegal for anyone else to do so.

No Casinos, Inc., which supported Amendment 3 from 2018, also said it would file a lawsuit to prevent the contract from going into effect. Amendment 3, which passed 71.47% versus 28.53%, made the citizens’ initiative process the “only way to authorize casino gambling,” which means that Florida state lawmakers do not allow casino gambling by law or by reference to a constitutional amendment to approve the ballot. Amendment 3 included a provision that the amendment would not “restrict the ability of the state or Indian tribes to negotiate gambling contracts under the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for the conduct of tribal casino gambling or to affect existing gambling”. on tribal land under state-run treaties and Indian tribes under IGRA. “No Casinos President John Sowinski said,” This contract violates several federal laws as well as the Florida Constitution. The 2018 constitutional mandate of 72% of Florida voters couldn’t be clearer. Only voters in Florida, not politicians in Tallahassee or Washington, have the power to expand gambling in Florida. “

Bryan Newland, Assistant Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior for Indian Affairs, said, “After careful review by the IGRA, we have taken no action to approve or reject the pact … the pact is deemed approved by law,” as far as the IGRA and applicable federal law. ”Newland also said,“ IGRA should not be a barrier to tribes looking to modernize their gambling offerings, and this jurisdiction arrangement is in line with IGRA’s political goals of promoting tribal economic development while also being regulatory Ensure control of Indian gambling. The department will not read any restrictions into IGRA that do not exist. “

Governor DeSantis said, “The final approval of this historic gaming pact is a big deal for the state of Florida. This mutually beneficial deal will boost our economies, expand tourism and recreation, and generate billions in new revenue for Floridians. ”DeSantis also said he believes the pact meets the constitutional requirements of Amendment 3 of 2018 .

Seminole Tribe of Florida Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr. said, “Today is a great day for the people of Florida enjoying not only a $ 2.5 billion five-year revenue share guarantee but also nationwide Sports betting and new casino games, which will be launched this fall, will mean more jobs for Floridians and more money invested in this state. “

Florida Education Champions, sponsors of an initiative that enables organizations besides the Seminole Tribe to conduct sports betting in Florida, raised $ 20 million from DraftKings and FanDuel to qualify the initiative for the November 2022 election. The measure would allow sports betting at sports venues, pari-mutuel facilities and online in Florida. Florida state lawmakers would need to pass laws to implement the constitutional amendment, such as licensing, regulation, consumer protection, and taxation. Under the change, all online sports betting tax revenue would be dedicated to the Department of Education’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. Online sports betting could be conducted by (a) Indian tribes and (b) entities that have existed for at least a year and have conducted sports betting in at least 10 other states as part of the change. These companies could start conducting sports betting no later than eight months after the change came into effect. Other corporations or organizations can only carry out sports betting 20 months after the change has come into force at the earliest, if this is permitted under national law. As of August 19, 2021, the Florida Division of Elections reported that 685 valid signatures had been submitted for the Florida Education Champions initiative.

Seminole Gaming launched its own PAC, Voters in Control, and raised $ 10 million to support the pact and oppose the Florida Education Champions sponsored initiative.

Florida Voters in Charge also sponsored an initiative to expand casino games in Florida. The group submitted two versions: # 21-15 and # 21-16. The initiative would expand casino gaming in Florida and define casino gaming. Version # 21-15 would limit new casinos to 100 miles from a Seminole tribal casino and Version # 21-16 would limit new casinos to 130 miles from a Seminole tribal casino. A spokesman for the committee said, “Both election initiatives are options we are considering” and the committee “will make a decision on which option we will start collecting signatures for shortly”. Currently 110 valid signatures have been submitted for version # 21-16. Gary Bitner, spokesperson for the Seminole Indian Tribe, said, “Unlike the proposed sports betting voting initiative, none of these initiatives would affect the new gaming contract or the $ 2.5 billion revenue-sharing guarantee for the state of Florida affecting the compact’s first five years . “

Ballotpedia identified four committees registered to support and / or oppose gambling-related initiatives (# 21-13, # 21-14, and # 21-15) targeting the Florida 2022 election. In total, the four committees reported donations totaling $ 62,069,547.80.

The proposed measures will be reviewed by the state attorney general and the state Supreme Court after advocates collect 25% of the required signatures across the state in each of the state’s half-congressional districts (222,898 signatures for 2022 election measures). After these preliminary signatures are collected, the Secretary of State must take the proposal to the Florida Attorney General and the Financial Impact Estimating Conference (FIEC). The attorney general must refer to the Florida Supreme Court for an opinion on the compliance of the action with the one-topic rule, the adequacy of the title and summary, and whether the action is “valid under the United States Constitution or not ”, request. To qualify for the election, sponsors must submit 891,589 valid signatures, which must be verified by election officials by February 1, 2022. Signatures representing at least 8% of the district-wide votes in the most recent presidential election must be collected from at least half (14) of the state’s 27 congressional districts.

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