The Florida Legislature has less than two weeks to craft a new gambling legislation. The state’s main legislative body has two gambling bills – one sponsored by the House and the other by the Senate – to use as a material for a new framework that would regulate the provision of gambling services in future.
A specially assembled conference committee on gaming met on Monday to discuss legislators’ next steps in relation to the gambling legislative riddle ahead of the legislative session’s May 5 closure. Sen. Bill Galvano, sponsor of the Senate gaming bill and one of the committee chairs, said yesterday that his piece has gained edge over its House counterpart after a decision made by the Supreme Court last week.
The state’s highest court gave the green light to a non-profit organization known by the name Voters in Charge to collect signatures for a Constitutional amendment that would make it possible for voters to approve any gambling expansion within the state’s borders. If the necessary number of signatures is gathered, the proposed amendment can be voted on the 2018 ballot.
Here it is important to note that gambling expansion is what exactly the Senate bill pushes for. This is why Sen. Galvano said he believes it could well be the one to be eventually approved in the days prior to May 5.
If the bill’s provisions are indeed signed into law, they would allow for the addition of slot machines across counties where the move has been approved by voters.
Last week’s court ruling lacked clarity on whether the Constitutional amendment, if implemented, would apply retroactively, thus voiding any recent gambling-related agreements negotiated by the House and Senate, or prospectively. According to Sen. Galvano, it will only be fair if the amendment applies for decisions made after it has come into force.
Another important topic discussed during Monday’s meeting was whether the so-called pre-reveal games featured at bars across Florida should be considered slot machines. Sen. Galvano proposed that said games are indeed listed as slot machines; a proposal that, if approved, will close a pending court case.
Florida legislators have one more important issue to find a solution to before the legislative session’s end. They will seek an agreement with the Seminole Tribe, which operates a number of casinos across the state. A new Seminole deal could collect $3 billion from the tribe in revenue to the state for a seven-year period. In exchange, tribal casinos will receive exclusivity over the provision of blackjack.
Another related proposal offered the tribe to lose its blackjack monopoly, but to be allowed to add other table games, yet again in exchange for $3 billion for the state’s coffers. Although the Seminoles have demonstrated openness to discussions, they have noted that what they had been offered by lawmakers could not compensate for the rise in their payments to the state.
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