Gambling legislation in Florida hits a stumbling block

After Florida’s Senate Appropriations Committee removed two gambling bills from its docket, the legislation looks unlikely to progress.

US.- The Senate Appropriations Committee removed from its docket two bills which aimed to completely change the Florida gambling landscape. If the full state legislature would move forward with this legislation after this session is still unknown. Senator Tom Lee, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said: “We will see if they show up back on the agenda on Thursday or not.”

The gambling bills were drafted to approve a new US$3 billion gambling compact negotiated between Governor Rick Scott and the Seminole Indian tribe. Since the compact needs legislative approval, pari-mutuel and gambling operators and entertainment companies, lobbied intensely seeking to protect their own investments, which resulted in the amendment of the bills to include special-interest provisions.

On Monday, a House committee sent a bill to the floor which was significantly different from the compact that was negotiated by Gov. Scott and from the Senate’s version of the proposals. Both versions of the bills would allow most parimutuel facilities in the state to “decouple,” that is to drop their live-racing operations whilst continuing to operating casinos or gaining the right to open casinos. Neither Gulfstream Park nor Tampa Bay Downs would be allowed to decouple, though, and the bills also included the creation of a fund that would provide an estimated US$40 million per year for Thoroughbred purses and breeders’ awards from casino subsidies.