Near the end of last month, the new Seminole compact for gaming in Florida passed its final hurdle to become law under the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. This compact was decades in the making, and brings legal Class III Gaming (Vegas-style slots, blackjack and baccarat) to the Florida Seminole tribal casinos.

As part of the terms of the compact, the tribe must make guaranteed minimum revenue-sharing payments to the State of Florida for five years: $150M the first two years, $233M the next two years and $234M the final year. If gaming revenues exceed $2B, the payments to the State in years 3,4 and 5 will be greater than these minimums according to a percentage schedule (minimum 12%).

There is a provision in the compact about online gaming. If the State of Florida passes legislation to legalize any form of of online gaming and tribal gaming revenues subsequently fall by 5% or more, the tribe is no longer obligated for the guaranteed minimum payments in years 3-5, but rather only the percentage payments.

This means that if any intrastate online gaming (like Internet poker) legislation is passed by the Florida legislature, and tribal gaming revenues falls by at least 5%, and total yearly gaming revenues are below $1.95B dollars, the state will get less revenue from the Seminole tribe gaming payments. It is very unlikely that all these conditions will be met, so the chances of such legislation lowering tribal payments is essentially nil. (Last year, Seminole gaming revenues were estimated to be $1.9B.)

Even though the chances are essentially nil, this condition of the compact may still affect the passage of any Florida intrastate Internet poker bill during the next five years, as opponents to such a bill could still make the claim that passage would put in jeopardy the Seminole minimum guaranteed payments.

Click here to read the Seminole Compact.

how did this compact pass? The law states that there can be no revenue sharing with the tribes, at least that is how I understood it. They are allowed to make a guaranteed payment but not sharing.

also does the news shock anyone? David Cypress, powerful Seminole tribal council member, resigns

The law says there can be no state "taxation" of tribal gaming revenues. The legal question is whether or not revenue sharing in exchange for exclusivity rights is a form of taxation. A federal circuit court judge in California recently ruled that it is a form or taxation (which potentially would invalidate all tribal revenue-sharing compacts across the country). But this decision still has reviews and appeals to go through before it becomes the precedent.

In the meantime, the deadline passed on June 25 for the Secretary of the Interior to take action on the new Seminole compact. No action was taken, so it passed into law automatically.

BREAKING NEWS 2010- THE INDIANS ARE LOSING EXLCUSIVITY RIGHTS IN FLORIDA IN 5 YEARS-

LOL, not really but if you don't see the writing on the wall, that the market is obviously going to be open for competition now, your in denial (Dont Even Know I Am Lying).

It's obvious next is open competition, Wynn, Harrahs etc.... bring it on, the real question is WHERE, Tampa, Miami, Orlando, we shall see in due time. And THIS is what I will now focus my interests on the next 5 years. It would be great for the Florida Labor Market.

Do you think because of all the BP/gulf crisis it slipped past?

And is there anyway they may go back and repeal it?

Definitely a possibility.

No. But if the California case becomes a national precedent for the invalidation of all revenue sharing compacts, it will be back to the drawing board for Seminole gaming.