Orlando Sentinel: Casinos aren’t coming to Orlando, Seminole Tribe insists, but sports betting could be everywhere
May 10, 2021Florida Politics: No Casinos: We could talk Seminole Compact expansion if online gambling were dropped
May 10, 2021Florida Politics: No Casinos launches ad campaign opposing Seminole Compact
‘It’ll be like ‘internet cafes’ all over again.’
No Casinos is launching a new statewide ad campaign to warn Floridians about the new Seminole Compact, which opens sports betting the group says illegally expands gambling in violation of the Florida Constitution.
The Orlando-based anti-gambling group argues the deal between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis late last month and could be finalized during a Special Legislative Session starting May 17, lets “politicians and gambling lobbyists, instead of voters, authorize a massive expansion of gambling” in the Sunshine State.
“Not politicians. Not lobbyists. You,” the ad leads off. “That’s the law. But gambling lobbyists want politicians to break it.”
No Casinos specifically cite the Amendment 3 constitutional mandate passed in 2018 by 72% of Florida voters. The amendment gives Floridians “the exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling in the State of Florida.”
Despite that explicit provision, the group says an expansion of sports betting could turn every cellphone into a “slot machine.”
“Their plan: Casinos. Sports betting. Even slot machines on cell phones,” the ad continues. “It’ll be like ‘internet cafes’ all over again.”
Read the full article online here.