{"id":74387,"date":"2018-04-03T15:03:40","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T22:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=74387"},"modified":"2018-04-03T15:03:40","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T22:03:40","slug":"florida-legislature-special-session-a-genuflection-to-the-gambling-industry-says-anti-casino-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-legislature-special-session-a-genuflection-to-the-gambling-industry-says-anti-casino-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Legislature Special Session a \u2018Genuflection to the Gambling Industry,\u2019 Says Anti-Casino Group"},"content":{"rendered":"

Influential Florida anti-gambling group NoCasinos has claimed the state legislature\u2019s call for a special session to address gambling issues is \u201ca fictional crisis manufactured by gambling lobbyists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John
John Sowinski of NoCasinos says the legislature\u2019s special session is a \u201cfictional crisis manufactured by gaming lobbyists\u201d \u2013 and he should know. In his other role as President of Voters in Charge he has accepted $1.3 million from Florida\u2019s most powerful gaming operator. (Image: Miami Herald)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the last two years, the legislature has failed to pass sweeping gambling reform packages<\/a> aimed at resolving compact negotiations with the powerful Seminole tribal casino operator.<\/p>\n

But a political committee called Voters in Charge has succeeded in pushing a proposed constitutional amendment onto the November ballot that would put all decisions related to the expansion of casino style gaming into the hands of Florida\u2019s voters.<\/p>\n

\n

Having failed to negotiate an agreement with the Seminoles, lawmakers argue the Voter Control of Gambling Amendment would remove all bargaining power from the legislature, effectively handing a perpetual gambling monopoly to the tribe, which could cost the state billions in future gambling revenues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s game over for the legislature if that amendment gets on the ballot and passes,\u201d Senator Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) told local radio recently. \u201cAnd at that point, we\u2019ll just be spectators in the world of gaming, which will essentially be a monopoly for the Seminole Tribe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018No Facts Have Changed\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The stalemate in the legislature has stemmed from the opposing consensuses in the House and Senate. The latter wants to expand slots and gaming for the state\u2019s pari-mutuel venues, while in return offering the Seminoles exclusivity on craps. The former wants, broadly, to preserve the status quo.<\/p>\n

But the legislature needs to find common ground if it is to forge a deal with the Seminoles that could be worth $3 billion to the state over the next seven years, and with the November ballot looming, the issue has become somewhat pressing.<\/p>\n

Not so, says NoCasinos president John Sowinski, who described the special session as a \u201c<\/strong>genuflection to the gambling industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

“The urgency of this matter is curious, since no facts have changed since the end of session that would now make this such an enormous priority that it could merit a call for a special session of the Legislature,\u201d he wrote in a letter to the legislature.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Backing from Disney and Seminoles<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But Sowinski is also the president of Voters in Charge, which received most of its financial backing from the Disney Corporation and the Seminoles.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Disney Corporation hasn\u2019t always supported putting Florida voters in charge, incidentally. In 2013, it successfully lobbied against citizens in Orange County from voting on a measure that would have forced it to offer mandatory sick pay to Disney World employees.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, it seems the boss of NoCasinos was happy to accept $1.3 million from a powerful gambling company to fund a campaign that would effectively hand that company a gaming monopoly, to the potential detriment of funding for the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Influential Florida anti-gambling group NoCasinos has claimed the state legislature\u2019s call for a special session to address gambling issues is \u201ca fictional crisis manufactured by gambling lobbyists.\u201d Over the last two years, the legislature has failed to pass sweeping gambling reform packages aimed at resolving compact negotiations with the powerful Seminole tribal casino operator. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":74390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFlorida Legislature Special Session a \u2018Genuflection to Gambling Industry,\u2019 Says NoCasinos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Florida anti-gambling group NoCasinos calls legislature\u2019s special session \u2018a fictional crisis manufactured by gaming lobbyists.\u2019 The legislature is anxious to forge a compact with the Seminoles before the Voter Control of Gambling Amendment hits the ballot in November.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Florida Legislature Special Session a \u2018Genuflection to Gambling Industry,\u2019 Says 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