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prepare for a post-New Year’s slowdown. Inflation and staff shortages continue to strain restaurants and hotels, also affecting visitor traffic. That makes proactive sports and online betting marketing and operations a critical component of the gaming mix. It’s terrific when customers regularly patronize the property’s other amenities, but if they visit less to save money, gambling in a fun, secure environment will keep them playing wherever they are.
Although most industry members support online sports
betting, some prominent voices disagree. Maryland real estate developer/casino mogul David S. Cordish predicted problems on the horizon to an East Coast Gaming Congress panel in October. The third-generation Cordish Companies Chairman/CEO claimed that giants like Amazon, Facebook and Google will inevitably take hold because of their vast databases. He prefers not to compete against them in the “ether” but will on the ground. Cordish views casinos as part real estate, architecture, unions and buildings. Operators must befriend their governments, emphasizing the millions they pay in taxes and thousands they employ. He called sports betting a “point of the spear” social
experience with screens, food and activities that bring non-traditional players into casinos. Cordish believes operators lose their advantage by going from “social to isolation.” The debate may be moot in Florida, with potentially
devastating repercussions. On November 22, Federal Judge Dabney L. Friedrich halted sports betting after she ruled in favor of Miami’s Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room in Southwest Florida. They had filed a May 2021 lawsuit. Several months ago, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and
Hard Rock owners, the Seminole Tribe, negotiated a new state compact worth $2.5 billion. It awarded the Tribe exclusive sports betting rights at six of their reservation casinos and was Florida’s broadest gambling growth in 10 years. In exchange, the Tribe guaranteed Florida at least $500 million annually in revenue payments for 30 years. Florida’s existing racetracks and jai alai frontons could develop their own mobile apps and operate off-reservation sports betting as the Seminoles’ partners. They would split all proceeds – parimutuels receive 60% while the Seminoles earn 40%. Legislators ratified the compact so bets within Florida could begin transmitting through multiple servers on tribal lands on November 1. That “hub and spoke” model bypassed federal and state law and the problems then began. The lawsuit’s language challenged the meaning of tribal lands. Does an onsite server pass the legal definition of “on reservation lands” despite players wagering from anywhere statewide? Friedrich said no, ruling the new gambling compact’s language violated federal Indian gaming law regarding land use and therefore nullified the agreement. And so, just like that, the untold hours and money spent negotiating, planning, developing programs, marketing and researching legalities failed. This, despite a 3-1 public margin approving the compact partnership. Can DeSantis and the Seminoles appeal the decision?
Maybe not since it must go through the Department of the Interior in Washington, which oversees all Indian affairs. It will still take plenty of time. Pro or con, as federal judges are nominated and confirmed in Washington, they have vast powers that impact millions of people within their jurisdictions. So do other more localized state and city judges, but with a much smaller reach. The patchwork process of seating people on the “bench” is great in some states and horrendous in others. Pennsylvania, my home state, elects its judges, which is
the worst since they campaign like candidates. Anyone with deep enough pockets, or rich enough friends, may get themselves elected without any public vetting or real public scrutiny. New Jersey, my home since 2000, does it right. Potential
judges are investigated in four areas: professional, personal, financial and health. If legitimate, the current governor makes an official nomination and that particular county’s sitting state senator signs off – a courtesy, but not legally required. Politics can seep in if the senator wants someone else or just rejects the candidate. No one challenges that. Florida’s judicial merit selection uses non-partisan commissions to recruit and evaluate applicants. The Governor makes a final selection from their list. Casino executives must hope they operate in a state with
intelligent, reasonable judges who will not unexpectedly alter business life as they know it. I suspect Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen, AGA’s incoming Chairman, his corporate team, the Seminoles and DeSantis are working behind the scenes with an appeal. DraftKings and FanDuel have each contributed $10 million to support a proposed Florida constitutional amendment, legalizing online sports betting platforms at many facilities. It could go on the November 2022 ballot if Florida’s Supreme Court approves the language. Let’s hope they do. Too often, judges wield too much power based on their legal interpretations.
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