Florida Vegas

April 19, 2010 - Since 1991, the Seminole tribe has been trying to get Florida to approve a gambling compact that would allow their casinos to operate Las Vegas style, or Class III, type slot machines as well as offer table games such as blackjack. Today, the Florida House approved the compact approved by the Senate last week. Now, it’s up to Governor Crist, who has been an aggressive supporter of the compact, to sign it into law.

April 8, 2010 - The Florida Legislature now has a new bill to review and approve. If everyone is in agreement, the Compact between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida will go into effect. The newest wording is here in PDF form. It is interesting reading.

Here’s the wording regarding gambling in Florida as provided by the Gambling Law US website: Florida Gambling Laws. It’s lengthy and, from the wording, it appears Florida currently has many illegal gambling sites, specifically, “Internet Sweepstakes” rooms set up in numerous shopping plazas throughout the state.

And this regarding all the bingo games going on throughout the state: Florida Charitable Gaming Laws.

The U.S. Federal Government is baring its teeth in an ongoing battle against “money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses” — specifically online gambling.

Internet casinos are illegal within the United States but that hasn’t stopped players from gambling at online casinos hosted outside of the U.S.

In order to gamble at an online casinos, players must fund their play either via credit card cash advances or bank withdrawals. To prevent U.S. players from online gambling, the government has made it illegal for U.S. banks and credit card companies to process payments to online casinos.

Gamblers will always find a way to gamble and putting up a wall expecting that players will simply turn around and take up another sport or hobby is wishful thinking. The wall becomes an open door for entrepreneurs who offer loopholes that get past legalities.

There’s no formal agreement approved and whether the state of Florida will decide to let the Seminole tribe have exclusive gambling rights within the state is still up in the air.

On one hand, agreeing to the compact gives Florida $430 million that’s in escrow. It would also reportedly bring in a minimum of $150 million annually into Florida’s coffers.

But, with so many clauses written into the compact that prevent any and all other types of gaming allowed in the state, including online gaming, the actual revenue to the state may be less or nil.

On the other hand, if legislators decide they can forego that $430 million and the future payments from the Seminoles for exclusivity, and expand gambling, there is a greater potential of revenue for the state and more gaming options for Florida gamblers.

Competition could loosen the slots and give gamblers a fair chance instead of giving them only one choice.

Florida’s current legislation is reviewing several bills having to do with the Gaming Compact between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida: SB 622, HB 749, and SB 680. PCB SICR 10-01, which would have ratified and approved the previous gaming compact,  received 0 Yeas and 15 Nays in committee vote.

Also of interest is the presentation by Integrated Destination Resort Casinos (Las Vegas Sands Corporation) on March 11th to the Select Committee on Seminole Indian Compact Review. The presentation begins on page 5 of the Action Packet. A video of the March 11th committee meeting is here.

There are several other gambling bills being considered this legislative session. All bills should be watched to see if any vetoed bills are wrapped into newer bills.

Gambling is already legal in Florida. Expanding it in order to bring in other casino operators and removing the Seminole advantage is yet to be determined.

This is a link to HB 1441, a bill entitled ” Internet Poker Consumer Protection and Revenue Generation Act of 2010.” It was referred to the Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs Policy Committee for review and action on March 25, 2010. Apparently no action was taken but the current legislative session doesn’t end until April 30th.

The bill would create “Internet Poker Consumer Protection & Revenue Generation Act of 2010″; provides for intrastate Internet poker to be provided to public by cardroom operators through state Internet poker network operated by Internet poker hub operators; provides for administration & regulation by Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering of DBPR.” If passed, the projected effective date is July 1, 2010.

The bill was estimated to generate $200 million annually in revenue to the state of Florida, revenue that allegedly is currently going into offshore gaming sites by Florida’s online gamblers.

A 29-year old Naples, Florida, man has been arrested for an alleged money laundering scheme which was tied to internet poker winnings. Michael Olaf Schuett was discovered to have hundreds of companies linked to internet gambling.

Schuett is a German national whose visa expires in April. He’s being held in a Lee County jail, without bond, after a federal judge ruled he was a flight risk.

According to news reports, Schuett is the officer and registered agent of 424 incorporated business in Florida as well as owning others under his name. He opened multiple business accounts at SunTrust, Bank of America, Regions Bank, Iberia Bank, Ironstone, BB&T, and Royal Bank of Canada. What he did not do is register as a money transmitting business which reportedly prevents money laundering.

For more than three years, Schuett is alleged to have laundered over $70 million in online poker money, operating as a middleman between poker sites and primarily U.S. players. Reportedly, more than 23,000 poker accounts were frozen when the authorities, alerted by bank employees and FedEx, investigated Schuett.

Schuett was the middle-man between U.S. poker players and foreign-based gambling sites. Because U.S. gambling laws make it illegal for banks to process payments to online casinos, players find it difficult to fund their online gambling accounts. That’s where Schuett’s services came in as he provided a funding “loophole” for players.

So how hard is it to set up an online casino? The following links explain the how-tos of opening an online casino in addition to other information of interest.

Setting up an Online Casino

Starting a New Business in the Gambling Industry

How Online Gambling Works

Understanding the Law of Internet Gambling

Worst Casinos and Sportsbooks

March 14, 2010 – Whether the Indian casinos are going to be the “only game in town” remains to be seen. While Florida’s Governor is pushing to sign the Indian compact closing the door to other gaming interests, not everyone is eager to give the Seminole tribe such a big victory, regardless of the millions of dollars that will be dumped into Florida’s education coffer.

Opponents don’t want Florida to become another Las Vegas. “We don’t want gambling here,” they say. But gambling has been legal in Florida for years: dog racing, horse racing, jai alai, bingo halls, and the lottery are all gambling. Why not full-fledged, Las Vegas-style, casinos?

Currently the biggest “Las Vegas-style” casinos are the two Seminole Hard Rock Casinos, one in Hollywood, the other in Tampa. The Hollywood casino has competition from other casinos (mostly their own) within fairly easy driving distance. The Tampa casino has no competition and payouts reflect this.