Battle lines drawn in Florida sports betting lobbying campaign
Seminole Tribe launches $10m “Standing up for Florida” committee to combat out-of-state efforts to widen sports betting beyond tribal body
Florida’s Seminole Tribe has launched a $10m lobbying campaign against operator efforts to widen sports betting in the Sunshine State via voter ballot and legislative amendment.
The “Standing up for Florida” drive warns Florida residents about “out-of-state” gambling operators, which have accelerated their plans following the signing of the tribe’s new legislative compact in May.
A 30-second “Watch Out Florida” commercial, which aired last weekend, highlights petitions made by operator-backed political action committees (PAC) which aim to force a voter ballot on sports betting legislation.
Florida political and communications consultant Rick Asnani serves as chairman of the campaign along with other members of his Cornerstone Solutions lobbying firm.
Florida’s new 30-year tribal gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe grants the tribe significant control over Florida’s gambling market while allowing sports betting for the first time.
Competing operators can enter the state’s sports betting market but must operate as skins under technology provided by the Seminole’s gaming partner Hard Rock Digital.
As part of this arrangement, any operator using the Seminole platform is required to pay 40% of its revenue to the tribe – a potential deterrent for prospective operators.
The tribe first saw its compact challenged by a lawsuit from two local pari-mutuel sports betting operators, which was dismissed by a Florida court earlier this week, and now via these operator-backed lobbying initiatives.
One of these is Florida Education Champions (FEC), a Florida-based not-for-profit PAC backed by DraftKings and FanDuel, which have each pitched in with $10m in funding donations.
The FEC is aiming to allow exclusive access to operators which have been authorized to conduct online sports betting in at least 10 states for one year, as well as Native American tribes which already have a gaming compact with the state.
Operators meeting this criterion would then face an eight-month delay before they can begin operating in Florida.
A rival effort called Florida Voters in Charge is backed by land-based operator Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Alabama.
LVS has donated more than $17m to the campaign, while the Poarch Band of Creek Indians has itself donated $1m. The PAC proposes a constitutional amendment aimed at allowing North Florida parimutuel card rooms to develop into full land-based casino operators.
Each initiative is required to obtain signatures from 891,589 Florida voters by the end of 2021 to be included on a November 2022 ballot, and would require a 60% vote to pass.
Elsewhere, efforts to widen sports betting in California beyond tribal operators has attracted support from a quartet of Golden State mayors.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf issued a joint statement indicating their support for the California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act introduced in September.
A group of seven operators including BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel have backed the campaign, which aims to widen online gambling with the stated aim of providing funding for mental health and homeless charities in the state.
The rival California Sports Wagering and Consumer Protection Act initiative would limit sports betting to “highly regulated entities” and experienced operators, including state and federally recognized tribes.
State-licensed gaming establishments and professional sports leagues will be allowed to have sportsbooks at their facilities under the draft bill.