Panhandle Slots Referendums Spinning Toward a Court Battle

Efforts to have voters approve slot machines in Gadsden and Washington counties may not count.

But the pari-mutuels seeking to expand their gambling offerings dispute an opinion issued by the attorney general Thursday.

Attorney General Pam Bondi released an opinion Thursday that the Department of Business and Professional Regulations is not authorized to issue a slot machine license to pari-mutuel facilities even if countywide votes allow such an expansion of gambling.

Bondi argues that a law enacted in 2009 that is being used to bring slot machines to the Panhandle counties was intended just for Broward and Miami-Dade counties as part of the deal that brought about the compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

The language in question took effect as part of legislation ratifying a gaming compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Bondi's opinion stated.

In light of the intense consideration and debate that went into the Legislatures approval of the Seminole compact, it is virtually unthinkable that the Legislature would have intended to both undermine and ratify the compact in the same enactment.

The statute in question is the third clause of 551.102(4):

Eligible facility means or any licensed pari-mutuel facility in any other county in which a majority of voters have approved slot machines at such facilities in a countywide referendum held pursuant to a statutory or constitutional authorization after the effective date of this section in the respective county, provided such facility has conducted a full schedule of live racing for two consecutive calendar years immediately preceding its application for a slot machine license, pays the required licensed fee, and meets the other requirements of this chapter."

Gaming proponents have claimed the provision allows referendums to be held on slot machines for pari-mutuel facilities in any county that holds a minimum number of events over a two-year period.

Gadsden and Washington counties have moved forward with a referendum -- being decided with the Jan. 31 GOP presidential primary -- that asks their residents if a local pari-mutuel should be allowed to offer slot machines.

Pari-mutuel representatives argue Bondis opinion is nonbinding and they're ready to take the state to court if voters support the referendum.

"Fortunately, the Supreme Court has ruled on many occasions that these advisory opinions have no binding affect and more times than not are eventually rejected by Florida courts," Marc Dunbar, an attorney and minority owner in Gretna Racing in Gadsden County, told the Tallahassee Democrat. "I look forward to meeting her in court where law, not politics, will ultimately decide the issue."

In Washington County, Ebro Greyhound Park owner Mark Hess told the Panama City News Herald his attorneys also disagree with Bondi.

View Bondis opinion here.