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The Writing Is On The Wall For Sports Betting In Florida
Bottom Line: For all of those ready to spike the ball in the endzone in celebration of the State’s passage of sports betting...hang on to that ball or you’re liable to be as premature in your celebration as Leon Lett in the Super Bowl. On Wednesday the telltale sign that sports betting isn’t likely to clear legal hurdles happened. Two of the biggest players with the highest stakes available for Florida being open for sports betting business got together to fund a proposed a constitutional amendment. Draft Kings and FanDuel are teaming up for a newly introduced proposed amendment for 2022’s ballot which would allow sports betting in Florida. There’s only one reason that happens. Florida’s recently ratified Seminole Compact with Sports betting that’d begin October 15th is going down in court.
On May 13th I brought you this...
The opposition is led by No Casinos, the group which spearheaded 2018’s Amendment 3. Also known as the group that confused many Floridians into voting for an amendment that made it more difficult to expand gaming in Florida.
The first polling on the new Seminole Compact with the inclusion of sports gaming shows it’s highly favored across Florida. According to the survey by the Tyson Group, 62% of Floridians are in favor of the new compact with only 17% opposed. What’s more, is that the pollster found that the more informed Floridians were about the compact the more likely they were to support it, meaning that even most of those lacking an opinion are likely to break in favor of it once they know what it’s about.
There are few contentious issues that have such apparent broad support across the political spectrum as this one. This data also shows the flaw with Florida’s current Amendment process as it’s increasingly evident most Floridians who voted for 2018’s Amendment 3 didn’t understand what they were voting for. And if the new compact doesn’t come to pass that Amendment is the most likely reason why.
That sums it up. What Floridians voted for in 2018 appears likely to sink the current deal in court. However, the polling, showing 62% support out of the gate is key. Florida’s constitutional amendments require 60% support to pass. It already appears the numbers are there. The process to get on the ballot, that’s just getting started. And getting on the ballot is anything but a given in Florida. First up the 891,589 signatures necessary to get on the ballot. And so, the process to attempt to in part undo through a constitutional amendment what was done by a constitutional amendment begins.