Florida Legislature's gambling discussion
still focused on Seminoles

By Brandon Larrabee
© 2010 Florida Times-Union
Sunday, March 21, 2010

TALLAHASSEE - Legislative discussions of gambling this year have ranged from Las Vegas-style casinos to Internet poker to changes for the state's pari-mutuel industry, but the focus always returns to the issue that has dominated the conversation for three years: How to handle the games rolling on at seven casinos on tribal land owned by the Seminoles.

A House committee has already shot down the latest version of the pact between Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminoles, who operate the casinos despite the lack of a formal agreement with the state. The governor, tribe and Legislature have battled over the terms of a gaming deal for years. Without an agreement with the state, the Seminoles have no exclusivity guarantees.

Crist has pushed for his agreement with the Seminoles, which would bring in an estimated $6.8 billion in revenue for the state over the next 20 years. It would also allow legislators to tap $433 million to help with a budget shortfall of up to $3 billion in the coming fiscal year.

Legislators insist the governor and the tribe have to more closely follow the guidelines that the House and Senate pass into law. But despite the controversy, some lawmakers believe this could be the year a deal finally gets done.

Rep. Bill Galvano, the Bradenton Republican who chairs the House committee dealing with gambling, said he and one of the panel's senior Democrats met last week with the tribe.

"We have moved even closer to an agreement in concept," Galvano said.

He said negotiations are focused on crafting exemptions to the exclusivity agreement.

Much of the state's pari-mutuel industry, including Northeast Florida facilities, has lined up against the proposal, which provides the Seminoles exclusive rights to operate some games outside of Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Gaming interests in the southern part of the state, particularly those outside of Dade and Broward, are concerned that the deal with the tribes will give the Seminoles' facilities an unfair advantage, while those north of Interstate 4 are worried that the deal could foreclose opportunities to expand gaming in the future.

"That exclusivity gives them some sort of time to build their empire," said Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, who chairs his chamber's panel overseeing gambling.

Jones is crafting a measure for his committee and said his fellow lawmakers will have something to consider within the next two weeks. He said the legislation would likely be different from previous drafts because of changes to the gambling landscape in the last few years - including the emergence of offshore Internet gambling operations frequented by some Floridians.

But Jones suggested the Senate would be unlikely to push ahead with separate legislation helping the pari-mutuel industry without a compact with the Seminole tribe, a process the House started earlier this year when it rejected the latest draft of the deal.

"We could [consider a stand-alone bill], but eventually they would have to be married," Jones said.

Internet gambling interests have pushed for the state to legalize and regulate their games, and casino developers have pitched plans for the state - particularly as a fall-back option if lawmakers can't reach an agreement on the Indian compact. But the battle over the Seminole pact has some observers doubting the GOP-dominated Legislature would go along with any expansion of gambling.

Meanwhile, lawmakers remain confident that a deal with the tribe will get done - for whatever that's worth.

"I was confident the last two years," Jones said.