State to negotiate with Seminole Tribe
(Compiled by Alisa Snow & Lena Juarez)
Gov.
Charlie Crist has until Aug. 21 to come up with an agreement or “compact” with
the Seminole Indian Tribe regarding the use of Class III gaming slot machines
in their casinos.
Crist
received the deadline news in a letter from U.S. Department of Interior
Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, according to news reports.
Currently,
the Seminole casinos have Class II “bingo style” machines. The tribe argues it
is legally entitled to the Class III Las Vegas-style slots under the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act, which says tribes are allowed the same gambling options
featured anywhere else in the state.
The
tribe also may make the argument that because Class III gaming (slot machines)
is allowed at Broward County horse and dog tracks and its jai-alai fronton, it is
entitled to install any form of Class III gaming, which would include black
jack, craps and roulette.
It
appears that the state intends to negotiate a compact that would allow the
tribe to offer Class III slot machines, while the state receives some of the
revenues and has some regulatory oversight.
A meeting between the Governor’s Office and the Seminole tribe is
anticipated in the first week of July.
If
an agreement between the state and the Seminoles isn't reached, the federal
government could grant the tribe the right to have the traditional slot
machines at its Florida casinos with the state frozen out of getting any of
the revenue.
The Seminole Tribe has averaged an annual profit of
more than $500 million from its gambling operations since opening the Seminole
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino complexes near Hollywood and Tampa, according to court records.
Crist allows pari-mutuel bills to become
law
Gov. Jeb Bush made it clear that
he wanted no expansion of gambling during his tenure, so we were curious to see
how his predecessor, Gov. Charlie Crist, would handle the avalanche of
pari-mutuel bills that landed on his desk this year.
Gov. Charlie Crist signed three
bills and let two others go into law without his signature. This isn’t too
surprising; other governors have done this in the past.
The three bills signed by Gov.
Crist:
- CS/CS/SB 500 by
Sen. Saunders relating to Instant Bingo -- Creates the “Evelyn
Wiesman-Price Act” providing for the playing of instant bingo at
authorized locations. It provides
new definitions describing the tickets and game, specifically how the
tickets must look at be manufactured.
It requires the Department of Lottery select a list of instant
bingo ticket manufactures qualified under NAGR from which distributors of
charitable, non-profit or veterans organizations may purchase, distribute
or sell.
- CS/SB 1376 by
Sen. Jones relating to Lottery Patents-- Allows the Department of
Lottery to hold patents in addition to copyrights, trademarks and service
marks and notify the Department of State of that action.
- HB 7069 by the
House Jobs & Entrepreneurship Council & Rep. Reagan relating to
the Pari-mutuel Wagering Trust Fund -- Allows the Division of
Pari-Mutuel Wagering to retain slot machine license fees, slot machine
occupational license fees, and compulsive gambling prevention fees in
order to fund slot operations within the Department of Business and
Professional Regulation and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The bills that
were not signed by the governor, but went into law without his signature:
- SB 134 by Sen.
Bullard relating to Cardrooms/Dominoes -- Includes dominoes on the
list of authorized games played at a cardroom. The definition of cardroom distributor
now includes dominoes and dominoes tables.
- HB 1047 by Rep.
Seiler relating to Slot Machine Gaming – Requires drug testing
programs for all slot machine occupational licensees; Provides that the $3
million license fee is to be paid on the anniversary date of the initial
license and then annually thereafter; Allows the division to issue a
combination license for pari-mutuel and cardroom occupational licensees;
Allows slot machine manufacturers and distributors to store machines and
have maintenance facilities in the county where the slot machine facility
is located; Allows certain schools to maintain slot machines for purposes
of education and licensure as slot machine technicians, inspectors or
investigators; Allows for 2,000 slot machines instead of 1,500; Allows for
slot machine gaming 18 hours per weekday and 24 hours on the weekends and
holidays; Prohibits automated teller machines from being in the designated
slot machine gaming areas; Prohibits slot machine licensees from cashing
checks, except for those of employees; Allows slot machines to be linked
and allows a progressive system within the facility.
- CS/SB 752 by Sen. Geller relating to
Cardrooms -- Defines “tournament” as a series
of games that have more than one betting round involving one or more
tables, where the winners or others receive a prize or cash award; Clarifies
that authorized games at a licensed cardroom do not include video poker
games or any other game or machine that is not authorized under Florida
law; Sets a cardroom per table fee of $1,000; Allows a cardroom operator
to award giveaways, jackpots and prizes to a player or players who hold
certain combinations of cards specified by the cardroom operator; Changes
the maximum bet from $2 to $10; Allows a cardroom operator to conduct
Texas Hold-em without a betting limit, if the players’ buy-in is no more
than $100; Allows horse race, greyhound, or jai alai permit holders to
operate a cardroom between 10 a.m. and 2
a.m. (instead of noon to midnight); Allows for the hours of
operation to be extended by: majority vote of the governing body of the
municipality where the facility is located or the governing body of the
county, if the facility is not located in a municipality. No longer
requires pari-mutuel facilities to limit cardroom operations to days when
live racing takes place; Allows facilities to have cardrooms within 35
miles of each other.
Snow
Strategies
2568 Centerville Court
Tallahassee, FL 32308