Image by Valentin Balan

Florida Lawmakers Introduce Sports Betting Bills To Fix Relations Between The State And Seminole Tribe

Article by : Helen Jan 22, 2021

• 
• 

The relationships between the Seminole Tribe and Florida have always been tense. The Native American tribe was proud to be the only tribe that did not sign any peace treaty with the US government. Nowadays, the “unconquered tribe” argues with the state again over the legal status of gambling and gambling income.

Back in 2010, when the relations between the State and the Tribe were warmer, they managed to sign a long-term agreement, according to which the Tribe had to give a percentage of its gambling revenue to the State in exchange for the exclusive rights to host certain types of casino games, including Blackjack. However, in May 2019, the Tribe announced that it would stop paying $US350 million annually because the State was breaching the terms of the revenue-sharing agreement. The Seminoles claimed that a number of smaller Florida-based gambling venues were operating the games that were supposed to be operated by the tribal casinos only.

The tribe will suspend its revenue share payments until the illegal banked card game issue is resolved.

There were many attempts to reach an agreement and get on the same line, but almost all failed. In March 2020, the negotiations took a new twist, with the House and Senate leaders working on a new proposal for the Tribe. There were little to no official details about the deal, but sources familiar with the talks said that the new proposal would allow the Seminole gambling venues to add Roulette and Craps to their game collections that already included slots and some “banked” card games. More than that, the deal would allow the Tribe to provide punters with online sports betting activities and add one or two gambling properties in Broward County.

In exchange, the Tribe was supposed to pay $US500 million in the first year and up to $US700 million annually in the next years. The only sticking point for the Seminoles in this deal was the provision that allowed private casinos in Florida to continue offering controversial “designated player” card games. Unfortunately, the State and the Tribe could not come to terms during the 2020 legislative session.

The year 2021 has started with the Florida lawmakers’ attempts to find a suitable solution for both the State and the Tribe. State Senator Jeff Brandes established 3 bills related to sports betting activities. Bill 392 would allow the Department of the Lottery to authorize sports betting operators. Bill 394 would provide a 15% tax on the revenue received from sports betting activities. Finally, Bill 396 provides a $US100,000 application fee for all sports betting licensees. All the funds from the bills are supposed to be earmarked for education in the state.

Though the three bills have pretty good reasons and motivation to be voted for, especially considering the budget holes and revenue drops caused by the pandemic consequences, they are considered more of a way for the Tribe and State to review and fix their relations. Anyway, the future of the bills still remains unpredictable. This can result in several things. Either the Tribe might accept the terms and come back to the bargaining table, or the State will start hosting sports betting, with the Tribe not being involved in the process at all. If the Seminole does vote for the bill, the legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis should better get on the same page first.