Sports Betting in Florida? Yes, it might happen this time
Bottom Line: It’s been a tease the past couple of years. Like an oasis in the desert for would-be sports gamblers, the prospect of a deal to settle the Seminole Compact and usher in a new era of gamming – which would include sports betting, has been just beyond the horizon only to fall short in the end. The catalysts have been two-fold. First, the May 14th, 2018, Supreme Court ruling enabling sports gamming throughout the United States. The second was the 2019 decision by the Seminoles to stop paying the state of Florida a monthly stipend representing 12.5% of the revenue generated for protections/exclusivity afforded by the compact. The Seminole’s alleged, and rightly so, that the state hadn’t been adequately enforcing protections afforded to them under the compact.
Two years ago, word was if the session had been one-week longer Governor DeSantis just may have been able to reach a deal with the Seminole’s centered on this framework:
- Florida votes to repeal the ban on sports betting
- Seminoles obtain the right for sports betting at their facilities
- Sports betting is also enabled at all existing racetracks statewide
- Prop bets are allowed at sports venues statewide
- Seminoles get a ten-year extension on their current compact on all other protections/exclusivity
Yesterday Politico, citing unnamed sources, reported that a deal appears to have been reached which sounds familiar to this framework. The state is currently declining comment. Given how close they’ve been before, and given that it’s been two years – including one which crushed revenues to the Seminoles and the state of Florida... I’m buying this rumor. Stand by for news...
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