The Florida State Senate Committee has thoroughly reviewed a major gambling expansion bill for the region that would boost the activity in the state. The Bill SB 8 was introduced by Senator Bill Galvano from the Republican Party and has now received an approval by the State Senate Committee.
The Bill SB 8 initiates the establishment of two casinos in Boward and Miami-Dade, as well as increasing the number of local racetracks’ slot machines.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee has revealed that there were no complications when it came to passing the Bill through the current legislative session. The House Commerce Committee Representative Jose Felix Diaz described this as a “gigantic first step” towards the expansion the gambling activity on the territory of Florida, especially considering the fact that the Bill was passed by the Senate at a very early stage.
According to him, the fact that the State Senate Committee reviewed and approved the Bill comes as a proof that Senator Galvano was ready to keep the negotiations between all parties that were interested in the Bill and the gambling expansion in the area, including the State Governor, the Florida House and of course, the Seminole Tribe.
Of course, there were people both for and against further expansion of the gambling industry in Florida. The expansion includes the opening a third casino in Connecticut. Some of the main aspects of the Bill are the establishment of two more casinos located in the counties of Broward and Miami-Dade, as well as boosting the gaming options in the already existing casinos in the state. As mentioned above, the Bill’s provisions are also aimed at adding more slot machines to racetracks and joi alai frontons in other parts of the state.
However, SB 8 Bill, also called the Galvano Bill, got the unanimous approval of the Senate regulated Industries Committee, so the state will continue to negotiate on the future impact of such an expansion. In addition, the regulatory authorities in the state are still discussing a new compact with the Seminole Tribe.
According to Senator Galvano, such an expansion of the gaming industry would probably help the State of Florida cover the $1 billion revenue deficit that it has been facing. He had also explained that the expansion was also expected to bring stability as far as gaming issues in the state were concerned.
As for the latter, there has been a Seminole Tribe case ruling which was officially appealed by the State. The ruling gave the local Seminole Tribe the exclusive rights to provide the customers of their facilities with blackjack and card games. The representatives of the tribe have revealed that they consider the ruling as part of a 20-year contract with the State of Florida, so these rights would be exclusively managed until the expiration date of the agreement.
- Author
Daniel Williams
