The Seminole Tribe continues the fight over blackjack in Florida by filing a lawsuit against the state.

  • Federal Lawsuit against Florida State
  • Significant process in negotiations
  • The future of Seminole blackjack in Florida
  • Extension or a totally new compact?

Regardless of the ongoing negotiations, the Seminole Tribe sued Florida State in federal court. According to casino gambling news, state representatives weren’t negotiating in good faith. The blackjack related agreement of the compact expires this week, meaning that the Tribe might be forced to remove table games from their casino offering. Florida Governor Rick Scott was short-spoken on the topic, stating only that he will do “the right thing for our state

The lawsuit might be surprising for some, as most recently the Governor appeared optimistic about the case. “We’re closer now than we were two weeks ago, and we were closer then than the month before,” claimed Scott. At the same time, Seminole representatives refused to confirm Scott’s statement. This week, the chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, James E. Billie said that there was a “significant progress.” However, “because of the timing it was necessary to file this suit now,” explained the Tribe’s spokesman, Gary Bitner.

The State might breached the compact with electronic blackjack in Florida

According to the Seminole Tribe, the close-down of Seminole blackjack in Florida would affect thousands of jobs. Therefore, it’s understandable that they do everything in order to protect their interests. The Seminole Compact specified a five-years of “authorization for the Tribe to conduct banking or banked card games.” This expired in July 31, but the deal allowed a 90 day grace period to remove the tables, which ended on October 29.

The Seminole Tribe claims that the State breached the compact when allowing the installation of electronic blackjack machines at racinos. This was highlighted after an official letter, asking about the Seminoles’ plans to shut-down blackjack tables. The Tribe waited until the very last days of the agreement’s expiration to file a lawsuit referring to the breach. Ever since the compact’s in force, the Tribe paid $1 billion to the state. Now “the tribe and the state are negotiating either an extension of the compact or a new compact,” said Gary Bitner.

The Tribe might fights for craps, roulette and blackjack in Flroida

After all, both parties confirmed the progress of the negotiations about blackjack in Florida. The lawsuit might be only a formality on the Tribe’s side, to ensure that they’re legally protected. Some sources claim, that in the future Seminole casinos might be allowed to offer roulette and craps in exchange for more money to the state. The original Seminole Compact should be valid until 2030 as it was signed in 2010 stating that “this compact shall have a term of twenty (20) years.”