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Seminole Tribe spends another $5 million to protect gaming empire

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

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Voters In Charge: Scrambling For Gambling

The Seminole Tribe continues to spend big in an attempt to protect its gaming empire in Florida.

The tribe donated $5 million to a group called Voters in Charge, The News Service of Florida reported. The Walt Disney Company also contributed the same amount, bringing the total spending by both entities this year to $20 million.

The goal is to buy $30 million in ads, Florida Politics reported. That means the tribe and Walt Disney plan to donate another $10 million this year in hopes of convincing voters, the ones who are "in charge," to approve Amendment 3 on the November ballot.

If adopted, the amendment would set a high bar for any new casino in Florida. The project would be put to a vote of the people, and 60 percent of voters would have to agree to it.

The tribe operates six casinos in southern Florida, where its Class III gaming compact promises regional exclusivity. In exchange, the tribe shares a portion of slot machine revenues with the state.

Despite the pledge, the state authorized an expansion of non-Indian gaming in violation of the agreement, a federal judge ruled. And lawmakers have repeatedly proposed to expand gaming even more, which could hurt the tribe's enterprise.

Read More on the Story:
Disney continues to dump millions into anti-gambling measure in Florida (CalvinAyre.Com August 14, 2018)
Disney, Seminoles sink another $10 million into gambling fight (The News Service of Florida August 13, 2018)
Casino stakes anti-Amendment 3 group with $525K (Florida Politics August 8, 2018)
Group backing gambling amendment plans $30M ad buy (Florida Politics August 8, 2018)

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Seminole Tribe and Disney poured $10 million into campaign to limit new casinos (May 10, 2018)