Cheers to an objective, legal finding on gambling expansion in Florida as courts take over

Since the Florida Legislature failed to produce legislation addressing the future of gambling, lawmakers lost control of this years-long conundrum to the courts. The collapse of negotiations addressing a compact with the Seminole Tribe and the interests of the state's powerful pari-mutuel industry could haunt Florida.

This session, lawmakers could not come to grips with approving the 20-year compact with the tribe, negotiated by Gov. Rick Scott, and at the same time could not throw the declining pari-mutuel a lifeline in the form of slot machines and other concessions. The two issues were tightly intertwined.

The courts will now decide the big gaming questions in two lawsuits.

Gambling opponents favor this nonpolitical approach, confident the state Supreme Court will rule in one case that the Constitution prohibits legislators from expanding any game of chance without voter approval. We favor handcuffing lawmakers in this manner, too.

Another possible outcome could unleash an historic expansion of slot machines statewide, the worst consequence of the legislative breakdown on finding solutions acceptable to all parties.

Should the state Supreme Court rule that Palm Beach and Gadsen counties could apply for permits to operate slot machines because local voters already approved them, the pari-mutuels will fight for the same right.

Furthermore, the court could also decide that the Legislature lacks the power to authorize slot machines outside Miami-Dade and Broward counties, which both won referendums in 2005, without statewide voter approval. That would terminate lawmaker influence and only allow the Legislature to determine which locations could operate new games.

Currently, the Seminole Tribe enjoys a monopoly on gaming outside South Florida under a 2010 compact, paying the state $250 million annually in revenue-sharing for that right. The tribe's federal court lawsuit contends the state violated the exclusivity clause by allowing player-banked card games at Miami-Dade and Broward slots casinos.

Should the tribe prevail in its federal lawsuit, those payments would cease while the Seminoles could continue current operations. And all the work toward a new 20-year agreement would be dead.

That new compact gave the tribe additional games, but the pari-mutuels fought for concessions. Lawmakers could not reach an agreement before the session ended.

The wild card in all this centers on millennials and the future of slot machines. The popularity of slots is withering, even in Las Vegas. Casinos are transitioning to other entertainment options that appeal to millennials.

As reported by the Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau last month, market research studies show slot machines bore millennials and table games are only marginally better.

This upcoming generation of 21- to 34-year-olds, who outnumber the baby boom population, grew up on the Internet and enjoy online games of skill, team competition games and fantasy sports.

Slot machines are not the long-term panacea for pari-mutuels, but in the short term, slots still look like a good bet. The Seminole Tribe's business model is shifting toward more restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment, all preferred by millennials.

In the meantime, gaming interests both pro and con have been flexing their political muscle this election cycle via contributions to the political committees of the political parties, the governor and the Legislature.

The pari-mutuels ponied up $2.4 million while the tribe contributed only $412,500.

On the anti-gaming side, Disney countered with $2.4 million. Cheers to the theme park behemoth for working to protect the state's family-friendly image, far more valuable than casinos and gambling.

Since the Legislature relinquished control of the issue -- in fact, depoliticizing it -- we hope the courts decide that voters, not politicians, determine outcomes.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cheers to an objective, legal finding on gambling expansion in Florida as courts take over."