At the beginning of the month, it became clear that the Seminole Tribe needs to enter into talks with the Florida gambling officials and seek renewal of their casino license, which is supposed to expire in the middle of the summer.
Although some members of the Legislature are not particularly happy with giving the Seminole Tribe the right to operate a few more years, the benefits their casino activity brings to the state are undeniable.
Anyway, next Tuesday is the start day of the legislative session and the issue about the license expiration of the Seminole is to be reviewed for sure.
If the license is not extended, the Seminoles will not be allowed to provide the cash games that are actually a source of decent revenues.
The members of the Legislature are still hesitating as to whether they need to renew Seminole’s license and implement some additional rules or give the tribal leaders the opportunity to discuss the issues with the Legislature members and eventually reach an agreement.
Actually, the Republicans have always considered the idea for the prohibition of card games excellent. What is more, Andy Gardiner, the Senate President has already appointed Bill Galvano to take care of the Seminole’s license renewal and all discussions and issues that go hand in hand with it.
Currently, the tribe pays significant taxes in order to be granted the right to provide cash games within seven of the properties it manages.
However, if slot games are allowed outside Broward and Miami-Dade, the tribal leaders have the rights to halt the payments. The same thing applies to the availability of card games outside the above-mentioned areas. That is the main reason why the officials were reluctant to allow the expansion of the local gambling sector.
The governor of Florida, Rick Scott and his assistants, however, did not seem willing to provide the communities with additional information about the license renewal or rejection.
Those who keep themselves informed about the Florida gambling affairs reminded that last year, the Governor was likely to allow the Seminoles to establish more casino venues and provide various casino games including roulette and craps.
Now, tribal officials and Florida regulatory bodies are hoping to find an alternative that would meet the requirements of both sides and permit the tribe to continue operating casinos, which would, therefore, contribute to state coffers.
Yet, Republicans are still unwilling to support the expansion of the gambling sector but this year things are a bit different since the idea for establishing casino resorts that can become competitive to the ones that have already consolidated their position on the US gambling market, is on the agenda.
