The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) did not welcome input from citizen groups, local elected officials, or local leaders before deciding to allow a gaming compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe to go into effect, according to an opponent of the deal.
“They viewed the only parties of the compact as being governmental officials in Florida and being the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida and that they did not have to deal with others,” said John Sowinski, president of No Casinos Inc, a public interest group. “Clearly, they did not want to deal with us. The only people they wanted to speak with in regard to this were the Seminole Tribe and governmental officials from Florida.”
As previously reported, the Seminole gaming pact was signed in April, approved by lawmakers in May, and allowed to go into effect by the Department of the Interior when the 45-day review period expired without commentary. In response, No Casinos has retained federal and state counsel.
“We're opposed to it because it expands gambling in Florida in ways that are unconstitutional because it doesn't give voters the opportunity to have the final say on it,” Sowinski told the Florida Record. “We're going to make sure that there is a strong federal and state challenge to this action. We have to figure out whether we have standing as plaintiffs or not. If we're not one of the plaintiffs, we're going to help organizations to make sure these actions happen.”
Just this week on Aug. 16, Magic City Casino filed a lawsuit in federal court in D.C. against the Department of Interior alleging the Seminole compact violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law because it enables sports betting on Seminole tribal land and other Florida locations where sports betting remains illegal.
“For it to be authorized on tribal lands, it must also be authorized within the state,” Sowinski said. “In Florida, what that means is that voters have to vote on it and approve it for it to be legal within the state and in order for the tribes to have it.”
Sowinski blames the oversight on the nature of the relationship between the Seminole Tribe and the Department of Interior.
"The Department of Interior works day in and day out with Native American tribes regarding a variety of issues and on the matters that come before them where the state government and the tribes are in agreement on something, they will show deference to that position but the difference in Florida is that voters, not state government officials have the final say on expanding gambling in our state," he said.
The compact violates three federal laws, according to Sowinski.
"The Wire Act says that a transaction occurs in two places where it is initiated and where it is received, and it must be legal in both places for it to be legal," he said. "The Online Gambling Act says basically the same thing and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act defines tribal land wagering on tribal land in ways that would preclude this."
Magic City Casinos' federal complaint, obtained by the Florida Record, states, "The Compact provides that Florida will permit only the Tribe to offer internet-based gaming throughout the State of Florida, rather than limited to the Tribe’s gaming facilities and or even its tribal land more generally. In granting a state-wide, race-based monopoly to the Tribe, the Compact precludes Plaintiffs from competing with the Tribe even within their own parimutuel facilities in offering sports wagering and online sports wagering."