Two of the largest companies in the daily fantasy sports industry, DraftKings and FanDuel, are backing a political committee’s efforts to legalize sports betting in Florida. The political committee, Florida Education Champions, is proposing an amendment that will allow sports betting at professional sports venues, pari-mutual facilities and through online platforms. The amendment would also raise money for education.
DraftKings and FanDuel have roughly 14 million users and have established partnerships with some of the biggest sporting leagues in the US. Both DraftKings and FanDuel offer sportsbooks to allow online sports betting.
The amendment, as detailed on the Division of Elections website, states that if betting revenues are taxed, the monies would be required to go to the state Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.
“The Florida Division of Elections just approved the committee’s request to be assigned an official serial number for ballot placement, so we may immediately begin the petition collection process and thereby initiate efforts to generate substantial revenue that can be directed to Florida’s public education system – without raising taxes,” Christina Johnson, a spokeswoman for the committee, said in a prepared statement.
The proposed amendment is seen as a threat to the $2.5 billion deal recently signed by Governor DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe.
The proposed constitutional amendment “is a political Hail Mary from out-of-state corporations trying to interfere with the business of the people of Florida,” Seminole Gaming spokesman Gary Bitner said in an email to the News Service of Florida.
“They couldn’t stop Florida’s new gaming compact, which passed by an overwhelming 88 percent ‘yes’ vote from Florida’s elected legislators and enjoys 3-to-1 support from Floridians and guarantees $2.5 billion in revenue sharing. The guarantee is the largest commitment by any gaming company in U.S. history,” Bitner added.
The compact allows the Seminole Tribe to add craps and roulette to their casinos, launch sports betting, contract with non-tribal casinos to operate sports betting lounges, work with large Las Vegas-style casinos with the tribe’s name on the building, and expand casino buildings to tribal owned lands in Coconut Creek or Immokalee.
In return, the State of Florida will be a part of a $2.5 billion revenue sharing deal. Also, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson’s (R-10) office said the state will receive as much as $6 billion in revenue from now until 2030.
Florida Education Champions would need to submit 891,589 valid petition signatures to the state by Feb. 1 to get the proposed constitutional amendment on the 2022 ballot. The process also requires approval of ballot wording by the Florida Supreme Court.
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Steve Stewart is the Managing Editor and a contributor at The Florida Capital Star. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Fantasy Football” by Melissa Doroquez CC2.0
