Seminole Tribe clinches first five sports betting agreements
Tribal gaming compact holder agrees marketing deals with Florida parimutuels in first “hub-and-spoke” style arrangement
Florida’s Seminole Tribe has agreed its first sports betting marketing deals with five local parimutuel operators ahead of the launch of sports betting in the Sunshine State.
The five parimutuels are Palm Beach Kennel Club, West Palm Beach; Hialeah Park Casino, Hialeah; Ocala Gainesville Poker and Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company, Ocala; Tampa Bay Downs, Tampa and TGT Poker & Racebook, Tampa.
Under the terms of the agreement, the parimutuels will market the Hard Rock sportsbook at their facilities and in return earn 60% of the profits that are generated from their marketing efforts.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suggested the agreements were the first step in realizing the goals of the tribal gaming compact in expanding economic opportunity and driving tourism in Florida.
“Not only will this compact bring a guaranteed $2.5bn in revenue over the next five years, but it also brings together Florida parimutuel businesses from across the state in a creative partnership with the Seminole Tribe providing increased access to safe and transparent sports betting in Florida,” DeSantis said.
“Today’s announcement is a great success for the state and the Seminole Tribe, and I look forward to the announcement of additional partnerships to come,” he added.
The agreements are the first signed since the US Department of the Interior approved the new Gaming Compact in August following its initial signing in May.
It increases projected contributions made by the Seminole Tribe to as much as $6bn over the next 10 years, with a guaranteed minimum of $2.5bn during the first five years.
The state received its first monthly rev share contribution from the Seminole Tribe in October, when a $37m payment was transmitted.
Crucially, the new compact allows sports betting in Florida exclusively through the Seminole Tribe.
Under the compact, competing operators can enter the state’s sports betting market but must operate as skins under technology provided by Seminole gaming partner Hard Rock Digital.
Any operator using the Seminole platform is required to pay 40% of its revenue to the tribe – a potential deterrent for prospective operators.
Transactions would go through servers located on tribal land in a so-called “hub-and-spoke” model, something which bypasses both federal and state law, which both deem sports betting in Florida illegal.
A controversial agreement, it has been the subject of litigation from two Florida-based cardrooms, which have sued for damages on the grounds that Florida’s governor and the state legislature exceeded their constitutional authority and caused financial disadvantage to their businesses.
The lawsuit was dismissed by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida earlier this month. However, the Sunshine State is currently the focus of significant lobbying efforts by competing operator-backed Political Action Committees (PACs).
Both the Seminoles and a number of sports betting operators, including DraftKings and FanDuel, have invested considerable sums in the rival campaigns, which aim to force legislative ballots on the issue.