Proposed Genting Casino in Miami Harbor
Florida lawmakers are attempting to lower voter expectations about a proposed 2014 rewrite of Florida’s gambling laws. Speculation has circulated for months that the Florida state legislature would expand legalized gambling, but pass a new bill in an election year might not be realistic.
Florida Senate President Don Gaetz and Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford are each seeking to quell expectations of an early breakthrough. The state has an agreement with the Seminole Tribe for a monopoly on gaming, alog with a $250 million payment from the Native American gaming tribe to the state government. Since the agreement is up for renewal in 2015, some believed 2014 would be the year to make a new agreement.
Senate President Gaetz says a renegotiation will happen either this year or next year, but has implied 2015 is a more realistic time for that discussion. Gaetz said, “I don’t think expansion of gaming, or gaming legislation, would be a Will Weatherford or a Don Gaetz priority…It’s not something we want to be involved in but it’s something circumstances probably require either us or our successors to do something about.”
Not a Likely Election-Year Issue
Political analysts say a bill might appear only if Republican lawmakers, who currently hold a majority, believe an initiative on the ballot might bring out new voters who skew Republican. Because the governor’s race is expected to be close, this might cause GOP leaders to make a new bill an election issue. Those leaders don’t appear to see the issue as pivotal, though, so bringing forth a gambling bill might have more risks than opportunities for the incumbents.
Because citizens often have strong views on an issue like betting on games of chance, support for new gaming legislation is often lacking. Voters might view gambling laws from a moral or economic standpoint and, in the case of online gambling, they might view such laws in terms of privacy. This makes the issue unpredictable during the passions of an election year, when certain issues take on an inflated sense of proportion.
Rick Scott Not in Favor of New Deal
Election analysts suggest the incumbent governor is unlikely to become the champion of a new legislative initiative. The Miami Herald reported this past Sunday that Governor Rick Scott is unlikely to take on an additional political risk, with his own re-election campaign coming up this year. With the three most powerful politicians in the state unwilling to push through legislation, this issue may continue to simmer until the beginning of 2015.
Charlie Crist Laws
Complicating matters for Governor Scott is the fact the current laws were signed by his opponent in this year’s election, Charlie Crist. When Crist was governor of Florida, he signed a compact with the Seminole Nation which allowed it to operate 4 casinos outside Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The same compact allowed the Seminoles to operate banked card games at 5 locations inside the state, including the Hard Rock Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Florida.
This compact assured Florida payments totaling $1 billion between 2010 and 2015 by those casino interests. A new law by Governor Scott would need to be more advantageous than the current law for Rick Scott to best his opponent’s accomplishment, but negotiations can be complicated. A continuing negotiation might put a spotlight on Crist’s positive accomplishments, while making Governor Scott appear to be siding with his rival on an issue.
New Gaming Law Opposition
When the issue is addressed, the Seminole Tribe might find it has strong new rivals. Racetrack operators want to end the Seminole monopoly on slot machine gaming outside of racing venues. Boyd Gaming and the Florida Panthers NHL hockey team want to partner in bringing a casino next door to the Panthers’ arena, which also sits near the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Broward County. Meanwhile, the Malaysian gaming giant, Genting, wants to move a license to their Biscayne Bay resort by partnering with Gulfstream Park.
Opposed to any new inclusions will be not just the Seminole Tribe, but the Disney Corporation. Disney opposes any new expansions of the gaming industry in Florida, and supports a political action committee (“No Casinos”) to assure no new agreements are made.
John Sowinski, the head of No Casinos, says the current compact serves as a firewall against gambling expansion. The current compact requires any new law to replace the $250 million revenue, or else the terms of the agreement cost the State of Florida hundreds of millions of dollars. If a breach were to occur, the Seminole Tribe would retain the right to keep their casinos open, but wouldn’t have to pay the state. Therefore, any new legislation has a high hurdle to clear.
Steve Gellar Predicts No Movement on the Issue
Steve Geller, a former Democratic state senator from Pembroke Pines, says the Republicans would prefer to resolve the issue while they control the legislative process. But Gellar, who is on the committee to re-elect Charlie Crist, also believes a new gaming bill won’t be signed into law.
He offers a different explanation for why a new compact isn’t likely, though. Gellar says, “A lot of Republicans may want to be in a position where they can raise money from the gambling entities in the 2014 general election by not resolving it.”
Statements of the sort are likely to appear from both sides all year, but it appears voters can’t expect a resolution to the issue until the 2015 legislative season.
