Florida loses against Seminole tribe

Seminole tribe will keep the total rights on banked card games.

US.- Florida Governor Rick Scott was not able to change the deal with the Seminole tribe on the signed agreement set in 2010. Scott had presented to the Justice a demand to reconsider the deal that gives the tribe the total rights on banked card games operations for five years initially. However, the U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle recently ruled in favour of the tribe.

The Seminole representatives consider the agreement as part of a 20-year contract with the State, so the operation of card games, such as blackjack baccarat, should be exclusively managed by the tribe until the agreement is expired. With Hinkle’s resolution, the tribe’s demand was accepted and card games will be operated by them for another 15 years.

The contract with Florida State establishes that the Seminole group should pay US$1 billion for the exclusive rights on banked card games. According to the local media, the Judge’s resolution expressed that any other operation of card games will violate the 2010 agreement between Florida and the Seminole tribe.

In 2011, the authorities had approved the offering of pari-mutuels’ “designated player” card game, which was considered as a violation by both the tribe and the Florida Judge. Hinkle commented that the approval “triggered an exception to the five-year agreement.”