Florida operators receive support over card games

Designated player games have been under threat since 2015, but they’ve recently received support from a Judge.

US.- Designated player card games were introduced in 2012 and have been extremely popular in Florida. The state gaming regulator declared card games illegal in 2015, based on an opinion that said that gaming operators were violating state gaming laws.

John Lockwood, a legal representative for a group of pari-mutuels in Florida filled a lawsuit stating that the Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering had violated the fixed whilst attempting to introduce a new rule to ban designated card games. The Administrative Law Judge Gary Early sided with pari-mutuels because “the state’s gaming regular should’ve introduced new regulations before looking to do away with the law that permitted banked card games.”

Early also commented that the state regulator was almost violating its authority in its attempt to limit gameplay by changing the rules. “Respondent cannot, with little more than a wave and well-wishes, expect regulated businesses to expose themselves to liability through their actions under a statute that is open to more than one interpretation, when the agency itself has found it problematic to decipher the statute under which it exercises its regulatory authority,” he said.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida is challenging card games in the state and they could cause major implications in the gambling industry, so Judge Gary Early’s ruling almost looks like a sign of hope for gambling operators.