Gambling rule proposal opposed

A new rule floated by Florida gambling regulators could cost hundreds of jobs, according to a lawyer for several of the state’s cardroom operators. The regulation would do away with controversial “designated player” card games that have been lucrative for parimutuel facilities across the state.

A new rule floated by Florida gambling regulators holds a price tag of $50 million a year and could cost hundreds of jobs, according to a lawyer representing several of the state’s cardroom operators.

The regulation in question, proposed late last month by the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, would make a number of changes and effectively do away with controversial “designated player” card games that have been lucrative for pari-mutuel facilities across the state.

The games have played a central role in a legal dispute between the Seminole Tribe and the state, and the proposed rule followed a revamped agreement inked last month by Gov. Rick Scott and the tribe. That agreement is an outgrowth of a 2010 deal in which the tribe promised to pay the state at least $1 billion over five years in exchange for exclusive rights to offer “banked” card games, such as blackjack, at most of its Florida casinos.

During the legal dispute, Seminole lawyers argued that the way designated-player games were played violated the tribe’s exclusive rights to offer banked games. A federal judge sided with the tribe in the dispute, which led to concerns that tribe payments to the state could end — though the tribe did not stop making payments.

The proposed regulation issued by the Division of PariMutuel Wagering would require designated players to “compete and compare their cards against each other to determine the winner(s) of each game.” It would effectively negate the designatedplayer games.

The new language would “ensure that players compete