Late on Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott eventually signed a 20-year gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe that would replace the 5-year one that expired on July 31. The announcement about the agreement came after months of negotiations between the interested parties.
Under the terms of the new compact, the Seminole Tribe and its seven gambling venues across Florida would contribute almost $3 billion to the state’s coffers within the first seven years. In exchange, the tribe would be granted the exclusive right to feature blackjack and to add roulette and craps at its properties.
The new agreement also allows the state Legislature to start discussing the addition of slot parlors at existing pari-mutuel businesses in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. In addition, under the terms of the new deal, South Florida racinos would be given the chance to request votes on whether they should be allowed to feature limited blackjack tables.
Gov. Scott said in a Monday letter to Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli that the additional revenue of $3 billion and the cap on the gambling options offered by the tribes can put the foundations of a “stable and predictable gambling environment” within Florida’s borders.
Being signed by Gov. Scott, means that the agreement will now have to be backed by the House and the Senate. The Senate’s lead negotiator expressed optimism about the eventual success of the 20-year compact.
The deal is accompanied by a key measure which is concerned with the expanded licenses of the gaming facilities in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties as well as the contraction of licenses for pari-mutuel businesses across Florida. Legislators will be able to debate whether blackjack should be added to pari-mutuel venues in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. If, however, those start offering the card game, the state would lose blackjack revenue from the Seminole Tribe.
The said measure also leaves the door open to a potential gambling expansion in South Florida. Earlier this year, Malaysian gambling giant Genting Group expressed interest in building a full-scale casino resort in the southern part of the state.
Under the terms of the 20-year deal, the Seminole Tribe would be allowed to operate banked card games at seven of its gambling venues. And under the expired 5-year contract, five of the tribe’s casinos were allowed to do so.
Over the past 5 years, the Seminole Tribe had to annually make revenue payments of $100 million in exchange for the exclusive right to operate banked card games, with blackjack being among those. Under the new 20-year deal, the tribe still holds the exclusive right to run table games but it has been put a cap on the number of gaming options it can offer at its seven casinos.
Tribal officials agreed to limit the number of slot machines to 3,000 and the number of banked card and table games to 150 at each of the facilities. What is more, the tribe would have to pay at least $325 million per year in the first seven years of the contract. Afterward, it would have to annually contribute at least $550 million in revenue to the state.
Gov. Scott said in the Monday letter that the Seminole Tribe is also likely to spend $1.8 billion in capital investment and that more than 4,800 new direct casino jobs are to be created in the years to come.
