SPORTS BETTING
US – DraftKings and FanDuel help fund initiative to challenge Florida sports betting monopoly through ballot initiative
By Phil - 29 June 2021
DraftKings and FanDuel are going all in for sports betting in Florida by launching a ballot initiative to open the Florida market to all sports betting companies.
They are helping to fund committee called Florida Education Champions who is launching a proposed constitutional amendment just a month after a new Gaming Compact, which guaranteed the Seminole Tribe of Florida exclusive rights for sports betting in the state. It will need 891,589 valid petition signatures to get a ballot initiative slot to threaten the Seminole mobile betting monopoly.
“Florida Education Champions is a political committee formed for the purpose of securing petitions in order to place an amendment on the November 2022 general election ballot,” the committee said. “Specifically, this amendment authorizes sports and event betting at professional sports venues, pari-mutuel facilities, and statewide via online sports betting platforms, and if betting revenues are taxed, taxes must supplement the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.
“The Florida Division of Elections just approved the committee’s request to be assigned an official serial number for ballot placement, so we may immediately begin the petition collection process and thereby initiate efforts to generate substantial revenue that can be directed to Florida’s public education system — without raising taxes.”
The Florida Education Champions proposed amendment ballot would ‘authorise sports and event betting under Florida law at professional sports venues and pari-mutuel facilities and statewide via online sports betting platforms by entities authorized to conduct online sports betting, and by Native American tribes with a Florida gaming compact, only for persons age 21 years or older. Requires legislative action to regulate sports betting. The legislature may tax betting revenues, and all such taxes are required to supplement the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.’
The Seminole Tribe of Florida responded by saying: “This is a political Hail Mary from out-of-state corporations trying to interfere with the business of the people of Florida. They couldn’t stop Florida’s new Gaming Compact, which passed by an overwhelming 88 per cent ‘yes’ vote from Florida’s elected legislators and enjoys 3-1 support from Floridians and guarantees $2.5bn in revenue sharing. The guarantee is the largest commitment by any gaming company in U.S. history,” said Gary Bitner, a spokesperson for Seminole Gaming.”
No Casinos President John Sowinski is also against the move. He said: “One eternal truth is that expanding gambling always results in even more expanded gambling. We oppose the sports betting amendment announced today, and are confident that Florida voters will reject it, should it get to the ballot.”
“Like the Compact currently pending before the Department of Interior, we oppose this measure,” he continued. “The type of modern internet sports betting authorised in this amendment is not simply betting on outcomes and point spreads. It includes highly addictive “props betting” continually pinging gamblers through smartphone apps to entice them into betting on things like “will the first play of the next series of downs be a run or a pass” or “will Tiger make this putt.”Countries that have this type of betting have shown troubling spikes in teen gambling and addiction, a recipe for long-term social and economic costs that far outweigh any perceived benefits.”
