Seminole compact’s fate will be decided by a judge

Lawmakers folded on the voting of the US$3 billion deal between Gov. Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe and now the tribe has taken the issue into judicial spheres.

US.- After Florida’s lawmakers folded on the US$3 billion deal between Gov. Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe, the last ones filed two gambling-related lawsuits. The Seminoles allege that the state breached the 2009 agreement which granted the tribe exclusive rights to operate banked card games, such as blackjack at most of its casinos.

Now, if a federal judge rules in favour of the tribe, Florida stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars each year in revenue the Seminoles now shares with the state. The situation may become even more hazardous as another pending lawsuit before the Florida Supreme Court, could open the door for slot machines at pari-mutuels state-wide also losing the money the Seminoles bring to the state.

The Seminoles are accusing Florida regulators of breaching the exclusivity portion of the compact by authorising “player-banked” card games at pari-mutuels throughout the state, as in those games, players bet against each other instead of the “house.” According to the tribe’s lawyer, Barry Richard, the Seminoles would still be entitled to keep operating them even if lawmakers or regulators ban the player-banked games. “Once it’s authorised, then we have the right to it and that’s the end of the story. They can’t just yo-yo us that way,” Richard said.

The lawsuit also claims that the state acted in “bad faith” in negotiations regarding the banked card games because instead of focusing on the card-related portion of the deal, the state forced the Seminoles to rework the entire 20-year agreement.

“They would not negotiate the card games unless it was tied to the whole big enchilada, and that was tied to pleasing the pari-mutuels. And, in my opinion, that’s not good faith,” Richard added. “The rest of the compact is set in stone until 2030. The parties together can mutually change that. But they can’t say the only way we’re going to negotiate the renewal of the card games is if you agree to give us more money on the rest of it. That’s not good faith.”