TRIBAL GAMING IN FLORIDA
the cardrooms at issue in the suit. 71 The Tribe, however, was not satisfied with Florida’s efforts to uphold its end of the bargain. 72 A lawyer for the Tribe indicated that it was the Tribe’s belief that the promised “aggressive” enforcement did not occur. 73 In the Tribe’s view, not only had the state failed to take the promised enforcement action, but it also had allowed the prevalence of the illegal games to expand. 74 In response to this perceived failure to uphold the deal, the Tribe’s Chairman hand- delivered a letter to Governor DeSantis in May of 2019 informing him that the Tribe would “suspend its revenue share payments until the illegal banked card game issue is resolved.”75 75 The state and tribe continued to negotiate a new compact over multiple legislative sessions, and it took two years for the parties to come to a resolution. 76 In April of 2021, Governor DeSantis announced that a new agreement had finally been struck between the Seminole Tribe and the state of Florida. 77 Because the deal was reached with only a week left in the legislative session, the state held a special session with the primary purpose of reviewing and ratifying the new compact agreement. 78 On May 18, 2021, the special session passed Senate Bill 2-A and formally ratified the 2021 Tribal-State Compact with the Seminole Tribe (“2021 Compact”). 79 C. The Seminole tribe Compact of 2021 After the long negotiations, the Seminole Tribe and Florida agreed to another 30-year gaming compact under IGRA. Under
the 2021 Compact, the Tribe was given continued exclusivity over banked card games and continued authorization to offer slot machines. 80 In addition, the Tribe was permitted to expand the number and types of table games offered at its casinos, such as craps and roulette, and add up to three new casino facilities within its reservations. 81 The 2021 Compact also included a severability provision, which stated that if a Court found any provision of the Compact invalid, all other provisions and subsections would remain in effect. 82 Most importantly, the 2021 Compact included a landmark provision that once again put the Seminole Tribe in a position to pioneer developments in tribal gaming law. In addition to physical sports books on casino floors, the 2021 Compact gave the Seminole Tribe the exclusive right to conduct mobile sports wagering and daily fantasy sports contests. 83 Under the Compact, the Seminole Tribe had the ability to accept wagers from mobile devices made by anyone located physically within the state of Florida. 84 While other state compacts allowed tribes to conduct mobile sports betting, the person placing the wager was required to be physically present on tribal land at the time. 85 The ability to accept wagers from patrons throughout the entire state set the 2021 Compact apart from predecessors. IGRA authorizes tribal-state compacts for the conduct of Class III gaming “on Indian lands,” 86 defined under the statute as either reservation land or land held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribe. 87 The 2021 Compact did not
71 Id . 72 Marcellus Osceola, Jr., Chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Letter to Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida (May 14, 2019). 73 Phillip Conneller, Seminoles End $350 Million Annual Casino Revenue-Share Payments to State of Florida , CASINO.ORG (May 15, 2019), https://www.casino.org/news/seminoles-end-350-million-revenue-share-payments-to- state-of-florida/. 74 Osceola, supra note 71. 75 Id . 76 Matt Rybaltowski, Sports Betting Talks With Seminoles Heat Up , SPORTS HANDLE https://sportshandle.com/florida-seminoles-sports-bet - ting/. 77 Memorandum from Wilton Simpson to Senators, https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Offices/2020- 2022/President/Docu - ments/4_23_21_2021_Gaming_Compact.pdf 78 Id . 79 Press Release, Florida Senate President Office, Florida Senate Ratifies Historic Compact with Seminole Tribe (May 18, 2021), https://www. flsenate.gov/Media/PressRelease/Show/3979 80 Bill Summary, Senate Appropriations Committee, CS/SB 2-A: Implementation of the 2021 Gaming Compact Between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida, https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2021A/html/2593. 81 Id . 82 2021 Compact Between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida, 66, https://www.flgov.com/wp- content/uploads/pdfs/2021%20 Gaming%20Compact.pdf [hereinafter “2021 Compact”].
83 Id . 84 Id . 85 See Tomlin, supra note 10. 86 25 U.S.C. § 2710 (d). 87 § 2703(4).
PAGE 11
IMGL MAGAZINE | APRIL 2023
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker