Will the Seminole Finally Get a Compact?

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has ordered Florida Governor Charlie Crist to negotiate a tribal-state compact with the Seminole Tribe for Class III games.

In 2004, Florida voters authorized slot machines, and three non-tribal casinos have been operating slots since last year. IGRA allows tribes to operate gaming if state law "permits such gaming for any purpose by any person."

Though the interpretation of the "permits such gaming" provision is controversial, in this context its effect is clear: if Florida permits any person for any purpose to operate slots, then the Seminole are authorized to operate slots -- under the terms of a tribal-state compact, of course. Those terms, we predict, will contain a revenue-sharing provision, as the Seminoles' gaming operations have proven to be extraordinarily lucrative, even without slot machines. The real question is what the tribe will get in exchange for giving the state a share of its casino revenue. To avoid being an illegal "tax" on tribal gaming, the state needs to give the tribe something of value -- usually some measure of exclusivity under state law.

Florida has resisted Indian gaming since the Seminole opened the first tribal bingo hall in 1979. The politics of Indian gaming in Florida resulted in two key federal court decisions: Seminole Tribe v. Butterworth, a precursor to Cabazon, the Supreme Court's landmark case that led to IGRA's enactment, and Seminole Tribe v. Florida, the Supreme Court case that unraveled IGRA's key compromise. As a direct result of Seminole Tribe v. Florida, the tribe has been thwarted in its attempts to seek enforcement of Florida's duty to negotiate in good faith, a duty placed on the states by IGRA. Let's see if the state honors that duty this time.

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