After a long stalemate, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed a new $3 billion gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe, which is seen as a significant increase in revenue sharing.
The deal comes amidst a bitter fight between the tribe and Florida over the expired compact. The state said that the tribe was illegally offering blackjack after a grace period ended.
Almost $3 billion will be given to the state over the next seven years. The tribe gets the exclusive right to offer blackjack at its casinos, as well as add craps and roulette. Florida doesn’t have commercial Las Vegas-style casinos.
The compact lasts for 20 years, and it must now win approval from the House and Senate, which are required to ratify the deal, according to the Miami Herald.
Under the new deal, the state can consider allowing parimutuels to operate slot casinos in South Florida. Racinos could also operate limited blackjack in the future.
The previous compact with the Seminoles was signed in 2010 and expired July 31.
Under the new compact the possibility exists for the Seminoles to stop payments if the state authorizes online gaming. That could include regulation of daily fantasy sports sites, which Florida has been looking at this year. DFS rivals DraftKings and FanDuel have teamed up to lobby Florida lawmakers in Tallahassee.
Earlier this year, Las Vegas Sands Corp., the largest casino developer in the world in terms of revenue, abandoned its lobbying efforts to build a multi-billion-dollar casino in South Florida.
“As long as the [Seminole] tribe is influencing the gaming landscape, there will never be room for us,” a Sands lobbyist told SaintPetersBlog.
A bill was introduced earlier this year for the mega-resorts, but the proposal didn’t gain any traction. The measure was opposed by the likes of Disney.
Tribal gaming in the United States had gross gaming revenue of $28.5 billion in 2014, the most ever for the industry. Though, it was a small 1.5-percent increase compared to 2013.
