Florida voters simply made it more challenging to alter its laws concerning gaming. What does that mean for the future of sports gambling in the state?
Florida and Amendment 3
On election night, as the majority of the nation was watching to see whether there was likely to be an ideological change in Congress, many in the gaming industry were seeing a different race in Florida.
This race did not involve the election of a person; the race was for Florida Amendment 3, a ballot measure that could shift the power from legislators to voters to authorize brand new casino gambling in the state.
The language of the measure has been as follows:
“This change ensures that Florida voters will have the exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gaming by requiring that in order for casino gaming to be approved under Florida law, it has to be approved by Florida voters pursuant to Article XI, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution. Affects articles X and XI. Defines casino gaming and clarifies that this amendment does not conflict with federal legislation concerning state/tribal compacts.”
Where did the gambling amendment come from?
Just two counties in Florida permit for”card games, casino games, and slot machines” in non-tribal owned centers.
In 2004, ahead of the current tribal compacts, under the watch of then-Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida voters in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties handed a ballot initiative which allowed for slot machines at racing and jai-alai facilities, which had operated in the two years prior.
The amendment effectively means that in order for the nation to expand casino gaming past the tribal casinos and existing racing and pari-mutuel facilities, voters in Florida would have to initiate the process by collecting enough signatures to get the petition added to a ballot.
“In Florida, the number of signatures necessary for an initiative is equal to 8% of those votes cast in the preceding presidential elections. Florida also has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures equal to 8% of their district-wide vote at at least half (14) of the state’s 27 congressional districts have to be gathered.”
For reference, the 2016 Presidential election had 9,419,886 votes cast. Eight percent of this vote total is 753,591 signatures needed in order to get a casino growth step on a future ballot. This is a daunting task, without considering the demand for geographic distribution, which is demanded.
There are, however, a few Florida-based groups that might have the ability to back a campaign of adequate size to gather these votes at a time in the future. Two that come into mind are Disney and the Seminole Tribe. Really, both Disney and the Seminoles were major backers for passing Amendment 3, supposedly putting in tens of millions of dollars to support the measure’s passage.
The resistance saw assistance from smaller gaming providers such as West Flagler Associates and Hialeah Park, as well as the Miami Dolphins, that (in)famously tweeted out an image that indicated that the passage of Amendment 3″would effectively block any opportunity for lawful sports gambling in Florida.”
If the language of Amendment 3 seems complicated, that’s as it’s. The language used in the Amendment scored a grade-level rank of 24 (the equivalent of getting 24 years of formal schooling or enough time to earn a Ph.D.) based on Ballotpedia, which ranks the readability of ballot measures. Amendment 3 was worded more complexly than many others, together with the typical ballot scoring between 19-20.
It doesn’t require a Ph.D. to see that the Amendment doesn’t mention sports. So, does this imply that Florida can launch sports gambling shortly?
Not really.
What is’casino gambling’?
According to Ballotpedia, Amendment 3 defines casino gambling as card games, casino games and slot machines. There is absolutely no mention of sports betting. Therefore, while it may seem that Amendment 3 leaves open the question of whether Florida can provide sports gambling, it fails the far larger problem, the fact that the State of Florida includes a Class III gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe.
Sports gambling is Class III gaming based on this Federal Register:
Class III gaming means all forms of gaming That Aren’t class I gaming or class II gaming, including but not Limited to:
(a) Any house banking game, including but not Limited to —
(1) Card games such as baccarat, chemin de fer, blackjack (21), and pai gow (if performed as house banking games);
(2) Casino games like craps, blackjack, and keno;
(b) Any slot machines as described in 15 U.S.C. 1171(a)(1) and electronic or electromechanical facsimiles of any game of chance;
(c) Any sports gambling and parimutuel wagering including but not Limited to wagering on horse racing, dog racing or jai alai; or
(d) Lotteries.
While Amendment 3 doesn’t restrict sports betting, the present compact between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida could impose a few limitations.
What’s from the Florida gaming compact?
The Compact, which was signed in 2010 between the Seminole Tribe and the state (it was amended in 2015 to add authorization for extra games), stated:
“It is in the best interests of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida for the State to enter into a compact with the Tribe that acknowledges that the Tribe’s right to offer certain Class III gambling and provides substantial exclusivity of these actions in conjunction with a reasonable revenue sharing arrangement between the Tribe and the State that will entitle the State to significant revenue participation.”
In the”Covered Games” part of this compact, there is no mention of sports gambling, but There’s a statement that might seem to cover sports betting as inside the covered games segment:
“Any new game authorized by Florida law for any person for any use, except for banked card games approved for any other federally recognized tribe pursuant to [the] Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, assuming that the tribe has property in federal trust in the State as of February 1, 2010.”
The tribe and the state agreed that the”Tribe is authorized to operate Covered Games on Indian Lands….” While Section IV of the compact excludes numerous games such as roulette and craps (that were then allowed) there is no mention of sports gambling, as blatantly excluded.
The compact identifies seven Seminole-owned casinos which could be expanded or replaced but does not authorize new construction beyond the existing lands. In addition to abiding by state-sanctioned gaming rules, the tribe, in exchange for”tight but substantial exclusivity,” agreed to cover:
$12.5 million per month during the initial 24 weeks of the agreement;
After that, 12 percentage of internet wins on all amounts up to $2 billion;
15 percent on net wins between $2 and $3 billion;
17.5 percent on internet wins between $3 billion and $3.5 billion;
Up to 25 percent on all amounts greater than $4.5 billion per earnings sharing cycle.
These obligations are due on the 15th of each month for twenty years by the initiation of this compact.
What about online gambling?
For those hoping for online gaming, there is a clause in the streamlined that says : if the state law is changed to provide online gaming and tribal gambling revenue falls over five percent in the past twelve months, the tribe has to substantially reduce their payments into the state below the guaranteed minimums. But, this will not apply if the tribe offers online gambling, subject to state consent.
In the event that the Seminole Tribe loses exclusivity, the state of Florida will be looking for a new source of revenue. Part XII Section A. of the Compact states:
“If, after February 1, 2010, Florida legislation is amended by action of the Florida Legislature or an amendment to the Florida Constitution to allow (1) the performance of Class III gaming or other casino-style gaming at any location under the authority of the State that was not in operation as of February 1, 2010, or (2) new forms of Class III gaming or other casino-style gaming which were not in operation as of February 1, 2010.”
If this happen, the tribe is entitled to stop some of their obligations until such gambling is no longer operated. In the same way, if present non-tribal facilities in Broward and Miami-Dade counties extend their Course III offerings, the Seminole Tribe can reduce some of their payments to the state also.
So, about sports betting…
It is not likely that Florida will see sports gambling being provided by any thing other than the Seminole Tribe.
The gaming compact negotiated between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida is lucrative for the nation and extremely helpful for the tribe. For an overview of how rewarding this compact is for the State of Florida at 2016, the Seminole Tribe paid more than $300 million to the state. The chance that Florida would endanger even a portion of these payments to authorize something which would generate as small additional state revenue as sports betting is extremely unlikely.
While Florida sports betting fans shouldn’t hold their breath for widespread legal sports gambling, the Seminole Tribe can, under the streamlined, get the capability to offer it at their seven casinos. Even though the Seminole Tribe has expressed an interest in being able to offer sports gambling at its Florida Hard Rock properties, they have been silent on the matter inside the state of Florida.
Amendment 3 did not foreclose on any hope of sports gambling in Florida. However, under the existing gaming compact terms, it would seem to be a costly endeavor for state lawmakers to permit someone aside from the Seminole Tribe to provide it exclusively, a choice that would surely render facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties unhappy.
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