Play at Rushmore!

Yesterday, House Speaker Larry Cretul asked the National Indian Gaming Commission, a federal agency that regulates the Seminole-run casinos across the state of Florida, to shut down of all table and card games at the state’s casinos. The Seminole tribe runs seven casinos in Florida, and Cretul wants to cripple every one of them.

This controversial move comes in the midst of a legal dispute between Seminole tribe and the State of Florida. The State insists that the Seminole casinos are offering card and table games illegally, while the Seminoles say they are acting within the law, citing a 2007 agreement signed with Governor Charlie Crist. The State has questioned Crist’s legal power to negotiate the gambling agreement.

With the argument between Florida and the Seminole tribe at a standstill, Cretful has taken the dispute to a federal level. If it is found that Seminole casinos are operating illegally, the casinos can be shut down, and could face fines up to $25,000 per infraction.

It’s definitely too early at this point to foresee the outcome of this battle. If things turn sour, and if Floridians lose their local casinos, they can always turn to the internet. The future of online gambling in the US is looking brighter every day, and there are currently quite a few online casinos that accept US players, and that offer excellent blackjack games and blackjack tournaments.