New Gaming Bill Introduced in Florida
The Florida casino and gaming scene could be seeing some changes if a new bill introduced last week in the state senate is approved. The plan would permit gaming permit holders to transfer those permits to a new location within a 30-mile radius of their current site.
The bill would even allow these companies to move locations despite local regulations that may bar gaming activities. Gaming opponents, especially those in South Florida, have been quick to denounce the bill, fearing expanded gaming in areas that may not be interested in seeing more.
“It’s an existential threat to our community,” Miami Beach Mayor and longtime gaming opponent Dan Gelber told the Miami Herald.
Details on the Gaming Bill
For casinos and gaming operators, the bill offers some opportunities to expand facilities that the operations may have outgrown. They can also move to more advantageous locations as well. The plan may not receive opposition from one key state group that many might expect, according to reports.
“In 2021, a $500 million deal negotiated by Gov. Ron DeSantis with the Seminole Tribe of Florida said the tribe could offer online sports betting across the state,” the Herald noted. “As part of the agreement, the tribe said it would not oppose new casinos more than 15 miles from the tribe’s gambling hubs in the Hollywood area, including the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.”
If approved, the bill could allow gaming permits to possibly be used by South Florida properties like the Fontainebleau resort in Miami and Doral Golf Club, the latter owned by Donald Trump.
Fontainebleau owner Jeffrey Soffer owns Big Easy Casino at Hallandale Beach and some believe he’s interested in moving that permit to the Miami property. The company is already in the casino industry after recently unveiling the long-delayed Fontainebleau Las Vegas project. An additional casino resort in South Florida could make the company a major player in the industry.
Florida has a vibrant gaming industry with full-scale tribal casinos along with slots and live poker at pari-mutuel venues around the state. Florida has become one of the leading gaming states in the country. Voters approved a 2018 referendum, however, limiting further expansion of gaming in the state.
The transfer of permits allows for the possibility of getting around this rule as well. This has been a thorny issue for the Seminoles as well as the tribe’s attempts to allow mobile sports wagering from bettors across the state. That issue remains in state court, although the tribe has received some positive rulings at federal court recently.
Miami Beach city officials voted to ban gaming facilities and the city of Doral did the same in 2021, unless voters gave approval via direct vote. The plan would now offer a chance to circumvent those actions. Local officials and elected representatives have so far lined up in opposition, but it remains to be seen if other senators and representatives feel the same way.
Alabama Legislators Continue Push for Casino Gaming
In other gaming news, efforts continue to bring expanded casino options to Alabama. Some in the state, however, see that as an uphill climb.
Sen. Chris Elliott (R) has said he backs a free market solution for expanded gambling and in the licensing process. But he remains skeptical about a bill ultimately reaching a vote.
“If we were going to do casino gambling in Alabama, that would be how I prefer that it looked,” he told WAVH recently of a more free market approach as seen in other states. “But unfortunately — this is where I get back into the special interests part of this — I think the special interests, the gaming special interests that have gaming existing in Alabama right now will kill any measure to have a free-market approach to this. And I say that because I was in those negotiations when that bill was in the Senate. And we pushed for more, not pure but more competitiveness in the licensure of those existing facilities.”
Democrat legislators also recently met with gaming interests as part of the party’s annual Pro-Growth Policy Conference. Currently, Alabama boasts three Wind Creek tribal gaming properties in Montgomery, Wetumpka, and Atmore. The casinos are owned and operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
In Shorter, the Victoryland Casino features slot-like electronic bingo play sim as well as simulcast wagering on greyhound and horse racing.
However, Alabama has less gaming than other regional states. It remains one of only five states in the country without a lottery. There are also no traditional commercial casinos or poker rooms, and sports betting is also against the law.
Recent large lottery jackpots across the country and the growth of sports betting has brought a larger focus on the issue in recent days. Whether expanded gaming reaches the finish line remains to be seen.
