- Committee withdraws lawsuit filed in Leon County Circuit Court.
- $73 million was spent on the campaign effort.
- The Seminole Tribe maintains its gaming monopoly in Florida.
Casino gambling will remain under the control of the Seminole Tribe in Florida, at least for now.
Efforts to expand casino options in the state have come to a close, as the Florida Voters in Charge group have decided to call it quits. Backed by the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the committee spent over $73 million in a petition drive effort to see changes made to casino laws in the state.
The committee decided to withdraw a lawsuit filed in Leon County Circuit Court regarding the matter and will be halting efforts in 2022. It comes as a surprise considering how much was spent on the campaign, but the drive was falling flat to see a referendum added to the November ballot to open the gambling industry up to more than just tribal operations.
Signature Issue Remains a Key Problem
Florida Voters in Charge spokesperson Sarah Bascom spoke late last week when the decision was made to stop the effort. The committee was created to bring casino gaming to North Florida, with its petition drive working to receive enough signatures to place a referendum on the November ballot.
According to Bascom, the committee feels that it produced more than enough required signatures to be placed on the upcoming ballot, obstacles stood in the way. Additional steps were needed to vindicate signatures and a new law that recently passed questioning the availability of the Supreme Court to review ballot language makes the goal unreachable.
Seminole Tribe Remains in Charge
The Seminole Tribe fought long and hard for its gaming monopoly, calling the petition effort an illegal operation as they have rights to gaming based on their compact with the state. The tribe is still a full service gaming operator in Florida and will have no competitors, at least for now.
However, the tribe still has obstacles to overcome. Back in November, the Hard Rock Sportsbook app opened via the tribe, but was shut down just three weeks later by a federal court. The decision is currently being reviewed under appeal.
The app was shut down due to the provider offering services throughout the state of Florida. The tribe feels they have every right to offer online sports betting since the servers are located on tribal lands. Opponents say that the argument is not valid and the operations should not be offered throughout the state.
The tribe will continue to fight the effort and it will be interesting to see if the expansion moves by groups like Florida Voters in Charge will be back in action in the future. I don’t see companies like Las Vegas Sands giving up any time soon on bringing services to such a large state as Florida.
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