A good fight must have two sides: A puncher and a counter-puncher, if you will.
But so far in one group’s attempt to put gambling expansion in the hands of Florida voters, the opposition hasn’t shown up.
Voters In Charge, the political action committee backing the Voter Control of Gambling Amendment, has reported growing support. A recent poll by Hill Research Consultants conducted by Voters In Charge reported support for Amendment 3 at 76 percent. Proposed amendments need 60 percent voter approval to be added to the state’s constitution.
The amendment will be on November’s statewide ballot.
Interestingly, there has been no announced opposition.
“I honestly don’t know what to expect, and from whom,” said John Sowinski, chairman of Voters In Charge. “So, we are assuming we will have opponents with resources and we are prepared to run a well-funded and well-executed campaign to pass Amendment 3. “It was a herculean effort to put this issue on the ballot and we have no intention of taking our foot off the throttle now.”
Think about:
The Seminole Tribe of Florida has donated $1 million to support the amendment, and while the tribe would love to have the right to offer craps and roulette, they also don’t want to see hotel-resort casinos barge into the state. They also are against the addition of slots at eight Florida counties that passed non-binding referendums supporting slots at their pari-mutuels because they don’t want the increased competition, especially near their Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, which took in about $970 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016.
Legislators, who would see the bat taken out of their hands, could be perceived as being too pro-gambling should they campaign against the amendment. (The Hill Research poll also states that 73 percent of voters said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate for office that supports legalizing Las Vegas-style casinos without requiring that it first be approved by a statewide vote of the people. So, who’s going to touch that one?)
Meanwhile, they are trying to work out a bill before session ends next month, balancing such challenges as decoupling, proposed slots at facilities outside of South Florida, blackjack at existing South Florida racetrack casinos and designated players games.
“My guess is the people who are opposing it the most on the other side are in busy in session in Tallahassee right now,” Sowinski said.
Hotel-resort casinos who originally wanted to plant a stake here have not yet mounted an opposing campaign. Sowinski also notes that Genting, which made a splash in 2010 by buying The Miami Herald property along Biscayne Bay and then lobbying Tallahassee, now has a deal with Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. “I think the big ‘X’ factor is what is Genting going to do. Do they want to fight this thing or not?” Sowinski said.
Existing South Florida racetrack casinos who have long pitched for a level playing field against the Seminoles also have yet to speak up. Sowinski said to keep an eye on that one in the coming weeks, because getting, say, blackjack, would be easier via the legislature than by launching a ballot initiative.
“I think if it’s going to be anyone, it would be those in the industry, who see us blocking what would be an easier path,” Sowinski said. But he has the advantage of knowing that the industry is usually so caught up in internal bickering – trying to block the other guy from upgrading – that a mounted effort is akin to peace between Israel and Palestine.
Meanwhile, Voters In Charge has rolled out new ads against a last-minute – Sowinski calls it a “buzzer-beater”— bill that would enable gambling expansion.
Lawmakers now are, in the ad’s words, “scrambling for gambling” as they try to agree on comprehensive legislation by the end of the 2018 Legislative Session on March 9.
But should the amendment pass, any potential gambling bill passed this spring will likely be challenged in court, Sowinski said. He notes the amendment uses the word “authorized” rather than “expansion.”
“Our view is that provision looks backward and forward,” he said. So, if the legislature does pass a gambling bill, and the amendment passes, we’ll all be hanging out in court for a long time.
Meanwhile, Sowinski is confident, but humble, after that last poll.
“We think it’s a very strong year,” he said. “There are strong populist inclinations regardless of party, whether Democrat, Republican or No Party Affiliation, say that it’s time to trust the people and not the politicians, particularly as it relates to gambling, where folks know there are lobbyists who routinely shower the politicians with political contributions.”
