Prospect of online casino gaming axed from Seminole Tribe Compact
House Speaker
Chris Sprowls announced Monday that Florida will no longer pursue online casino gaming as part of its Compact with the Seminole Tribe.
The announcement marks a major blow to gaming enthusiasts and those hopeful to broaden gambling in the state. Speaking atop the House rostrum, Sprowls explained that many lawmakers shared a specific concern regarding the provision.
“Some language in the compact could be construed to lead to the backdoor expansion of online gaming,” Sprowls said. “Even the mere possibility of this was unacceptable.”
Sprowls and others, including Gov.
The state s preempting of such ordinances has left a lobbyist for the American Lung Association to call Hutson s bill a win for Big Tobacco. While the American Lung Association supports raising the age and sale of tobacco products to 21, we don t want to do that while undercutting the work that is going on in different communities to institute and enact best-practices with regard to the prevention and control of smoking, Ashley Lyerly, the association s lobbyist, said in a phone call Monday.
Last year vs. this year
A similar effort had been made last year by former Sen. David Simmons. That bill had a couple of key differences. It would have also banned the sale of all flavored electronic cigarettes, opposed by the vaping industry, and didn t contain the preemption language.
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For weeks, negotiators for the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis worked on an agreement for a gaming compact.
Then, late Monday, the governor made what was likely a final offer: Florida would become the largest state in the nation to legalize sports betting, and the Tribe would control it. The Tribe would not stand in the way if legislators were to allow Miami Beach to
become home to a controversial new casino. And the Seminole Tribe would give the state hundreds of millions of dollars in annual payments.
It was an ambitious proposal designed to capitalize on the revenue stream of the exploding and popular online gaming industry, provide a new revenue source to the declining parimutuel industry, and open the door to a Miami Beach casino permit for Jeffrey Soffer, the real estate mogul who has used has used his superyacht, his friendship with Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tom Brady, and $1.1 million in contributions to influence the governor and legislat