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Lawmakers Should Refine Seminole Gambling Deal

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 22, 2008

Less than two weeks ago the Seminole Tribe of Florida surprised the state by expanding its gambling options at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel off Orient Road in Tampa.

The state attorney general's office, which along with the Legislature has tried to use the courts to block the spread of gambling on tribal property, called the addition of blackjack and baccarat games "blatantly illegal."

But it's far from clear that's true. The Seminole tribe says it is abiding by the terms of a compact negotiated last year by Gov. Charlie Crist. The state Supreme Court, however, ruled Crist did not have the authority to sign the deal without legislative support.

He should have sought the Legislature's consent, but he knew those opposed to gambling of any sort could scuttle the deal. After the court decision that Crist's deal was invalid, and the tribe's decision to ignore the court, there remains an opportunity for compromise.

Moreover, tribal gaming falls under federal jurisdiction, so there seems to be little Attorney General Bill McCollum or the Legislature can do to stop the card games on reservations.

This editorial board has long been philosophically opposed to the expansion of gambling in Florida, but the fact is gambling is here in different forms. And in these perilous economic times, the state could use the additional revenue generated from tribal casinos and other gambling venues.

So when state lawmakers return to Tallahassee in the spring, they should either approve or refine the compact. It's the only way to guarantee the state will share in the profits.

The tribe has already paid the state $70 million, and tribal leaders predict the payments could swell to $300 million to $500 million annually as more players visit the tribe's seven casinos.

We understand some people's reluctance to expand gambling. Destructive social ills - gambling addiction, alcoholism and family discord among them - often arrive in its wake. And the state too frequently bears the cost.

But voters started this march in 1986, when they approved the state lottery. Then in 2004 they voted to give Broward and Dade counties local control over adding slot machines to parimutuel sites. When Broward said yes, it was only a matter of time until slot machines also appeared in the Indian gambling halls.

Today the state has $30 scratch-off tickets. Cruises offer the chance to gamble Las Vegas style outside Florida's territorial waters.

Any talk of foregoing the potential revenue the casinos offer the state to get tougher on gambling is simply a bluff.

The state needs what Crist negotiated, both the money and clear rules limiting gambling's relentless expansion.

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