Members of the Florida legislature are considering changes to the gaming laws in their state, which could have an effect on two big parts of that industry, poker and dog racing.
According to Dara Kam and the Panama City News Herald, the Florida House Regulatory Affairs Committee approved a package of sweeping changes that would separate poker rooms and dog racing. Under the present laws, poker rooms must be a part of dog tracks that have an active racing card – sometimes up to 200 days per year – to be eligible to operate. The Senate has also examined the issue and passed a version of the bill in their own chamber, but it differs from the House bill (HB 1233) on a significant front.
The House bill differs from the Senate bill (SB 7088) additionally in that it has language that supports the potential for resort-style casinos in the Sunshine State. After commissioning a study two years ago that cost almost $400,000, the Florida General Assembly has dragged its feet over putting Las Vegas-style casinos in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Under the House bill, a one year extension would allow the voters of those two counties to vote on whether they would allow for the casinos to be built.
“It keeps that issue on the agenda. It keeps it in play,” House Rules Chairman Ritch Workman, who sponsored the amendment, was quoted by Kam. “That’s important, at least optically and literally for us having conversations up here.”
“If those counties wish to continue having this conversation, they need to pony up,” Workman continued. “They need to tell us they want it. Because so far, they’ve been silent. And privately, I’ve had citizens and elected officials from that area tell me the opposite. No one wants this. Everyone wants this. So time to put up or shut up. Time to hear from the citizens – should we continue this long, belabored debate or not?”
Unfortunately for the House, the Senate doesn’t see things the same way. SB 7088 was passed through its Senate committee without the referendum regarding resort gaming and the chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, Rob Bradley, indicated to Kam that the issue of resort gaming was “off the table.”
The separation of poker from the dog racing industry would have significant impacts, especially on the dog tracks. Poker rooms would have to stand on their own without the backup of pari-mutuel betting on dog or horse races, which would give a much better picture of the poker scene in Florida. The dog tracks, which have faced scrutiny over injuries to the greyhounds that race on the tracks, would be allowed to cut back on their racing schedules (in theory to help in the health of the greyhounds) or, in some cases, be allowed to completely eliminate race cards and concentrate on poker (which would be devastating to the dog racing industry in the state).
The 800-pound gorilla in the room, however, is the state’s tenuous relationship with the Seminole Indian tribe. The Seminoles operate several casino outlets around the state and, under a previous compact with the Florida government, paid out over $1 billion to the state over the past five years for exclusivity on several gaming areas. That compact is set to expire on July 1 unless a new agreement is signed or an extension can be reached (Bradley’s original bill provided a one-year extension for further negotiations between the Seminoles and government officials, but was pulled out of the final bill).
What effect the negotiations between the Seminole Indians and Florida government officials will have on the poker industry in the state is difficult to ascertain. There was an explosion of tournament poker in 2010 after gaming officials removed the ban on “no limit” poker games in the casinos. The World Poker Tour (who host one of their most popular stops, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Hollywood, next week), World Series of Poker Circuit and other smaller tournament circuits have trekked to the sunny climes during the winter months, offering outstanding tournaments for an audience thirsty for the action. It is also unknown what effect the discussion of resort casino gaming on the western side of Florida and the discussion of uncoupling dog tracks and poker would be.
Currently the two bills in the Florida legislature have just gotten out of committee. No indication has been given as to whether they will reach the floors of either the Senate or the House and, if they do, would have to be reconciled to read the same before they could go to Florida Governor Rick Scott for his decision on the subject. It will be a few more months at least before any read can be garnered on the Florida gaming scene.
