Seminole Gaming Compact Archives - The Florida Capital Star

Federal Government Appealing Seminole Gaming Compact Decision

January 27, 2022January 26, 2022 Grant Holcomb

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino entrance

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) filed a notice last week that they intend to appeal a previous judicial ruling that shut down the Seminole Gaming Compact, the News Service of Florida reported Monday. The notice did not clarify details of the arguments the DOI plans to make.

The Seminole Gaming Compact was a multi-billion-dollar agreement between the tribe and the State of Florida where the state recognized the tribe as the sole controller of sports betting in the state. In turn, the state would net billions in revenue from tribal payments.

DeSantis Announces Three Appointments to Florida Gaming Control Commission

December 27, 2021December 26, 2021 Casey Owens

Ahead of the turn of the new year and the 2022 legislative session that begins on January 11th, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his appointments for the first three of five seats in the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) on Wednesday.

The three appointments include Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Julie Imanuel Brown, Chief of Staff at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Michael Yaworksy, and Founder and President of Drago Professional Consultants, Charles Drago.

Florida Judge Rules Against Seminole Tribe, Wants to Hear Lawsuit

December 13, 2021December 12, 2021 Grant Holcomb

Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the Seminole Tribe of Florida over whether or not they are working to block petition gatherers for a constitutional amendment that would permit card rooms to operate in casinos.

Las Vegas Sands, who is supporting the lawsuit, launched a political committee entitled “Florida Voters in Charge” and hired petition-gathering firms to get 900,000 petitions before the Feb. 1, 2022 deadline. If they make the deadline, their constitutional amendment would be placed on the general election ballot in November 2022.

Seminole Tribe Shuts Down Sports Betting App Amid Legal Disputes

December 6, 2021December 5, 2021 Grant Holcomb

The Seminole Tribe of Florida has temporarily shut down their sports betting app as an appellate court in the District of Columbia denied the tribe’s request to continue sports betting while they are appealing a federal ruling shutting that down the Seminole Gaming Compact.

Judge Denies Stay on Seminole Gaming Compact Ruling

November 27, 2021November 26, 2021 Grant Holcomb

A federal judge has denied a stay on the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s sports betting compact with the State of Florida. A ruling earlier in the week blocked the agreement between the tribe and the state.

As of Thursday, the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Sportsbook was still operational and accepting sports bets.

Federal Judge Rules Against Sports Betting Agreement with Seminole Tribe

November 24, 2021November 23, 2021 Steve Stewart

Late Monday, U.S District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled the deal allows online sports betting through the Seminole Tribe violates the federal law that regulates gambling on tribal lands.

Governor DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida celebrated the approval of the historic Seminole Gaming Compact in August after a 45-day review of the agreement was completed by the U.S. Department of Interior. The agreement included online sports betting that took place off of tribal lands but was processed on tribal property.

“The final approval of this historic gaming compact is a big deal for the State of Florida,” said Governor DeSantis in the release. “This mutually-beneficial agreement will grow our economy, expand tourism and recreation and provide billions in new revenue to benefit Floridians. I again want to thank Seminole Tribe of Florida Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr., Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls for their part in getting this done for our great state.”

However, Friedrich ruled that the deal violates the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, or IGRA. The IGRA requires gambling activity take place on tribal lands. Friedrich wrote that, “over a dozen provisions in IGRA regulate gaming on ‘Indian lands,’ and none regulate gaming in another location.”

Out-Of-State Corporations Pour Millions into Florida Gambling Ballot Initiative

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021 Grant Holcomb

DraftKings and FanDuel have contributed to more than $20 million to fund a ballot initiative hoping to expand gambling in Florida. The ballot measure would legalize sports betting at all pari-mutuels, professional sports stadiums and arenas, and throughout the state where betters could have access to a mobile sports betting platform.

After the two corporations were left out of the negotiations between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, leading to the Seminole Gaming Compact, the political action committee, Florida Education Champions, is backing this 2022 ballot initiative.

Feds Defends Seminole Gaming Compact, Says It Is Not a Violation of Federal Law

November 12, 2021November 11, 2021 Grant Holcomb

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) have issued a 33-page court document earlier this week saying they did not feel the new Seminole Gaming Compact, signed by the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The new compact allows the Seminole Tribe to be the primary facilitator of sports betting in the state. The betting takes place on a downloadable app for smartphones, leading to questions about its legality since the betting does not have to take place on tribal land.

Seminole Tribe Kicks off Sports Betting in Florida

November 3, 2021November 3, 2021 Grant Holcomb

The Seminole Tribe of Florida kicked off their recently approved online sports betting platform in Florida even during legal challenges. The Tribe rolled out the new entertainment option with little press.

The launch of the new platform, which operates through an app downloadable for smart devices, allows users to place bets and wagers on professional sports teams.

Governor DeSantis, Seminole Tribe Celebrate Approval of Gaming Compact

August 8, 2021August 7, 2021 Casey Owens

Governor DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida celebrated the approval of the historic Seminole Gaming Compact Friday after a 45-day review of the agreement was completed by the U.S. Department of Interior.

The compact, the state’s largest gambling agreement in history, was ratified in May, and will look to generate a “minimum of $2.5 billion in new revenue to the state over the next five years and an estimated $6 billion through 2030,” according to a press release from the Governor’s Office.

DraftKings and FanDuel Put Millions on Florida Constitutional Amendment

July 14, 2021July 13, 2021 Grant Holcomb

The sports betting areas inside the casinos are like trading floors.

Draft Kings and FanDuel have each contributed $10 million to the Florida Educational Champions political committee who are funding a ballot initiative which would legalize sports betting in Florida.

The chairman of the political committee, David Johnson, took time to thank the sports betting companies for their contributions to the committee.

Seminole Gaming Compact Facing Legal Challenges

July 7, 2021July 6, 2021 Grant Holcomb

The newly minted gaming compact between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida is already facing a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.

The lawsuit says the Seminole Tribe’s claim to being the sports-betting hub, which is still illegal in Florida, creates complications due to gamblers being able to place bets on Seminole servers but while not being on tribal land.

Florida Lawmakers Ratify Seminole Gaming Compact

May 20, 2021May 19, 2021 Casey Owens

After negotiations between Governor DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Florida House and Florida Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that ratifies the Seminole Gaming Compact.

Under the compact, the Seminole Tribe of Florida will act as the state’s centralized location for sports betting. The deal requires the tribe to work with a minimum of three pari-mutuels within three months after sports betting goes live on Oct. 15.