A compact that will allow sports betting in Florida exclusively through the Seminole Tribe has been signed by Governor Ron DeSantis and will now advance to the United States Secretary of the Interior.
Senate Bill 2-A, which was signed by DeSantis on May 25, will allow sports betting in the state only through sportsbooks and online platforms operated by the Seminole Tribe, or in partnership with pari-mutuel betting operators.
The bill outlines that the Tribe will also be able to offer fantasy sports bets and certain class III games such as slot machines, banked card games, raffles, craps and roulette.
The Tribe must pay 13.75% of income from players that bet through a pari-mutuel sports betting operator to the state at each revenue sharing cycle.
It was first agreed by the Governor and the Seminole Tribe in April, with the agreement then progressing to the Florida legislature for ratification.
According to the agreement text, DeSantis will now work with the Tribe to present the compact agreement to the United States Secretary of the Interior, which will have have 45 days to approve the compact.
If the compact agreement is approved, the Tribe will also be able to partner with qualified pari-mutuel betting operators for marketing and branding reasons.
If the compact is not approved, the original agreement will remain in place.
The ratification process began on May 14, when Florida Senator Travis Hutson introduced the bill to implement the compact agreement, and made it through the Senate on May 19.
The compact amendment was approved by two House committees last week, following a new amendment that removed the possibility of the Tribe offering online casino betting.