On May 17, 2021, Speaker of the Florida House Chris Sprowls declared that the Governor of the State, DeSantis, and the Seminole Tribe of Florida were all in agreement about removing from the compact all language related to online casino gaming in the state. Sprowls thanked the Seminole Tribe for understanding the State’s concerns about the mentions of statewide online casino gaming in the compact and accepting an amendment.
In the original compact, there had been a clause that would require the State and the Tribe to engage in ‘good faith negotiations’ within 36 months to consider authorizing the Tribe for offering all kinds of online games to players physically present in Florida. On Monday, Sprowls declared an amendment in this clause of the clause.
Sprowls revealed that the issue of the amendment was first raised when he discussed the compact with Chairman Renner and Chairman Fine. They realized that the language for online gaming in the compact could be deliberately misinterpreted by miscreants to create opportunities for backdoor expansion of online casinos. So Sprowls and the Members discussed the issue with the Seminole Tribe, and they were able to come to an agreement.
The compact between the Seminole Tribe and the Florida State is being discussed in a weeklong Special Session starting from 17th May up to 21st May. The purpose of the hearing is to ratify a gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida. But now, this new agreement with the Seminole Tribe has changed the course of this session completely.
This compact is a very important development for the future of online casino gaming in Florida. If it gets ratified by May 21, then it will supersede the compact signed between the Seminole Tribe and Florida State in 2010. The developments of the Seminole Tribe gaming compact are an example of the efforts taken by US State legislatures to prevent illegal gambling practices in their jurisdiction.
