Seminoles and Florida Sign New Blackjack Compact

Today the state of Florida and the Seminole Native American tribe announced that they’ve come to an agreement on a new compact that will see the tribe getting exclusive rights to blackjack games in exchange for $340 million in payments to the state annually.

The agreement ends a dispute that’s been raging for years between the two parties, and will bring both groups satisfaction. The tribe will pay $340 million annually for the next 13 years and will have exclusive rights to shoe games at their casinos.

A previous dispute between the groups arose when the state began allowing outside groups the chance to offer electronic versions of shoe games at establishments. The tribe ceased payments to the state but continued offering the games, citing the breach in contract as their reason. A federal court judge agreed, and Florida vowed to appeal the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. Now it appears as though that won’t be necessary moving forward.

A spokesman for the tribe spoke glowingly about the deal, noting: “The settlement agreement ensures a stable future for the members and employees of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the Tribe appreciates the hard work of Gov. Scott and DBPR (the Department of Business and Professional Regulation) to get it done.”

This blog entry was posted on Thursday, July 6th, 2017 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Blackjack News.