It must be signed off on by the United States Secretary of the Interior as required by the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). The compact, however, although agreed to by the state legislature and signed off on by Florida’s governor, still requires federal approval. Under the terms of the compact, the tribe will also be allowed to offer craps and roulette at its casinos, and to build three new casinos on their tribal land in the state. Its provisions include that the tribe would operate sports betting in the state, with mobile sports betting to be allowed through online apps managed by the Tribe as well as Florida’s existing racetracks and jai-alai frontons.
The recent proposed compact does just that. This is in part because their existing compact with the state stipulates that any new gaming activity should be carried out by them. The Seminole carry plenty of political clout and it was important that the implementation of sports betting in the state include their buy-in. The Seminole tribe owns and operates the seven casinos in the state, which is also home to more than 20 “racinos” at racetracks. The compact provides for sports betting in the state to be operated by the Seminole tribe. Florida’s legislature called a special session this spring, in which they overwhelmingly ratified CS/SB 2-A: Implementation of the 2021 Gaming Compact Between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida.
