FanDuel, DraftKings pursue sports betting ballot measure in Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s new compact with the Seminole Tribe gives it a monopoly over sports betting, but two online betting companies are seeking to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after being shut out of the state’s newly legalized sports betting market.
DraftKings and FanDuel are backing a constitutional amendment to put before voters in 2022 that would allow them to share in the sports betting spoils. Christina Johnson, spokeswoman for Florida Education Champions, a political committee set up to finance the amendment push, said the companies will help bankroll the effort.
“Yes, DraftKings and FanDuel are going to be supportive of this effort,” Johnson said in an emailed statement. “The Florida Education Champions committee is comprised of likeminded individuals invested in increasing public education funding, without raising taxes, in Florida, by expanding sports betting in the state.”
The text of the ballot measure was made public Wednesday. It would allow wagers on sports at casinos, professional sports venues
and online, although online bets could only be placed with “organizations that have been authorized to conduct online sports betting in at least 10 states for at least one calendar year,” as well as the tribe.
The amendment would also direct all taxes imposed on sports betting would to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, which funds K-12 schools.
If approved by voters, it would be an end run around the compact Gov. Ron DeSantis signed with the Seminole Tribe, a deal that was ratified by the Legislature in a special session last month. The deal allows the tribe to offer craps and roulette and build three more casinos in South Florida, while guaranteeing the state $2.5 billion over the next five years and $6 billion by 2030.
The deal must still be approved by the U.S. Department of Interior.
The Tribe scoffed at the ballot amendment effort.
“This is a political Hail Mary from out-of-state corporations trying to interfere with the business of the people of Florida,” Seminole Gaming spokesman Gary Bitner stated. “They couldn’t stop Florida’s new Gaming Compact, which passed by an overwhelming 88 percent yes vote from Florida’s elected legislators and enjoys 3-1 support from Floridians and guarantees $2.5 billion in revenue sharing. The guarantee is the largest commitment by any gaming company in U.S. history.”
No Casinos, a group opposed to the expansion of gambling in the state believes the deal is unconstitutional because it wasn’t ratified by voters, in keeping with a constitutional amendment passed in 2018 requiring voter approval for new casinos. That group, though, also opposes the latest ballot push.
“We oppose the sports betting amendment … and are confident that Florida voters will reject it, should it get to the ballot,” No Casinos president John Sowinski said. “Countries that have this type of betting have shown troubling spikes in teen gambling and addiction, a recipe for longterm social and economic costs that far outweigh any perceived benefits.”
But the measure has a long way to go before making it into law, or even getting to the ballot.
Florida Education Champions will need to gather 891,589 signatures from Floridians by Feb. 1, and pass constitutional muster with the Florida Supreme Court.
Getting the signatures could be tricky. DeSantis recently signed a bill into law capping donations to ballot drives at $3,000, which could hamper the drive, since signature gatherers are typically the main expense for getting constitutional amendments on the ballot. Of the $5.3 million that Orlando attorney John Morgan spent getting the $15 minimum wage amendment passed in 2020, more than $4 million was spent on petition gatherers. That law, however, is being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups in court. A federal judge held a hearing in the case Thursday, but did not issue an immediate ruling.
If it does make the ballot, 60% of the voters would have to approve for it to become law.