Florida Senate, House Gambling Bills ‘Far Apart’

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Senate bill sponsor Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican slated to take over as president of the chamber after the 2018 elections, said lawmakers need to act to provide certainty for the industry and to maximize revenue from the tribe and the pari-mutuels.

“We have this ambiguous, unpredictable state of flux out there that needs to be wrangled in,” Galvano told reporters.

One of the primary objectives for lawmakers on both sides will be settling at least three pending gambling-related lawsuits.

The cases include one in which a federal judge recently sided with the Seminoles regarding the tribe’s ability to continue offering blackjack and other banked card games after the portion of the 2010 compact expired in 2015.

Another lawsuit focuses on whether pari-mutuels in counties where voters have approved slots can add the lucrative machines, even without the express permission of the Legislature.
And a third centers on a recent decision by a Tallahassee judge approving electronic games that critics, including the Seminoles, argue are effectively slot machines and warn could start popping up in convenience stores, bars and gas stations throughout the state.