A (Rare) Informed Editorial on Indian Gaming

An editorial in Saturday’s St. Petersburg Times offers a well-informed perspective on the current stand-off in Florida between the Seminole Tribe and state officials.

After the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the governor exceeded his authority in negotiating (at long last) a compact with the Seminoles, the state has been stymied by how to enforce the court's decision. The governor negotiated table games with the tribe, and the court ruled that the games were beyond the governor's power to authorize.

The key to the stand-off is the revenue-sharing provision in the compact: if all the tribe may operate is slot machines (which are legal in a few Florida counties), then there likely is not sufficient "give" by the state to justify the revenue sharing -- a fact that the editorial recognizes, and brings to readers' attention.

For more background on the situation in Florida, see our earlier posts, or read more on today's topic here.