People are reaching deeper into their wallets to play a record number of the state's $1 and $2 games of chance, according to Florida lottery records.
However, when it comes to ways to gamble in the Sunshine State, the big winners continue to be the Tallahassee lobbyists.
As Florida legislators continue to side with gambling's opponents, including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, to hold off efforts from national and international casino operators seeking to expand their gaming options, more than $1 million went to lobbyists during the first quarter of 2012, as the regular legislative session was under way and an extremely high-profile bill to create a gaming commission was debated and eventually left for dead on the House floor.
Meanwhile, at the Florida lottery, sales of tickets for scratch-off and randomly drawn numbers games surpassed $4.375 billion during the past 12 months, which is $100 million more than the state's sales target for the whole of the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
Shelly Safford, a senior public affairs specialist for the Florida lottery, credited the increase to an improved assortment of scratch-off games, higher visibility of games through advertising and retail placement, and changes to the Powerball game that included a bigger starting jackpot, better overall odds, more winners, and a $2 increased price point.
"We are anticipating that when our fiscal year concludes on June 30, we will surpass all previous lottery sales records," Safford stated in an email. "That being said, it is likely that all of our sales districts will beat their previous fiscal year sales."
In the past year, ticket sales in just the South Florida area hit $1 billion for the first time, topping the Miami districts prior 12-month high of $920 million which was set in fiscal year 2007-2008.
The growth of spending on the lottery comes as the American Gaming Association reports that the South Florida casino business grew by 16 percent in 2011, far ahead of the 3 percent growth rate for casino gaming in the rest of the nation.
Florida continues to see a proliferation of strip mall shops with slot machines offering "sweepstakes" prizes instead of cash.
And, as expected, paperwork has been filed by the political action committee New Jobs and Revenue for Florida. The PAC is expected to try placing the casinos issue before voters in 2014 as a change in the state Constitution.
Such an amendment would be expected to keep alive the flow of money that poured into lobbying efforts the past year in the capital.
Casino and pari-mutuel operators on both sides of the casino-bill fight this past regular session spent about $1.2 million in the first three months of the year on lobbyists, according to Lobbying Firm Compensation Reports that were due Tuesday.
The total doesn't include efforts by staunch casino-growth opposition. That opposition included the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Walt Disney. Associated Industries of Florida was on the other side, backing the bill that also called for a statewide gaming commission.
Malaysia-based Genting Resorts, which led the fight to build casinos beyond designated tribal reservations, dropped up to $679,985, while Las Vegas Sands spent between $85,000 and $94,999.
The totals are estimates. The lobbying firms only have to report set ranges that the pay fell within.
Additional gaming interests -- Boyd Gaming Corp., Caesar's Entertainment, Isle of Capri Casinos, Magic City Casino and Mardi Gras Casino -- collectively spent up to $150,000.
No Casinos, which headed the opposition, spent up to $40,000.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida, which has a compact with the state that would be broken with the expansion of gambling, paid three lobbying firms between $60,000 and $89,997 during the reporting period.
Meanwhile, pari-mutuel operators -- Gulfstream Park Racing Association, Jacksonville Greyhound Racing, West Flagler Kennel Club and Ocala Jai-Alai -- may have dished out up to $240,000 as they initially fought the bill.
The states biggest business advocates -- the chamber, Associated Industries of Florida, and Disney -- combined to spend up to $440,000 on outside lobbying efforts during the session.However, all three were involved in numerous issues before the Legislature, meaning the money didn't all go to gaming efforts.
AIF, which was in favor of the gaming bill and spent up to $210,000 on outside lobbying during the session, will continue to support an approach to regulate the burgeoning gaming industry in a comprehensive manner, AIF president and CEO Tom Feeney stated in an email on Wednesday.
"Whether you support or oppose gaming, it is an undeniable truth that gaming is a part of Florida. Its everywhere you look, including a state-sponsored lottery, pari-mutuels across the state, Indian casinos, Internet cafes and now barrel racing, Feeney stated.
The reality is, gaming in Florida is growing every day without any rational and coordinated plan. Unfortunately, some policymakers current approach to gaming is to simply stick their heads in the sand and pretend that Florida is not a gaming state. That is not working for Florida and its going to become an increasingly ineffective approach as gaming continues to grow at an exponential rate.
On the anti-gaming side, records show the Florida Chamber of Commerce spent up to $160,000 for outside lobbying, while Walt Disney World may have paid up to $70,000 for outside lobbying. But again, the focus wasn't only on casinos. The chamber only assigned a single member of its lobbying team to the issue.
The chamber is ready to continue to fight on the grounds that casinos need Florida, Florida does not need them.
Florida will soon be the third largest state in the nation. Its no surprise that Florida's growth and economic prospects make it the golden ring for foreign-owned and out-of-state Las Vegas-style casinos," said Edie Ousley, chamber vice president of public affairs, in an email.
For two decades, the Florida Chamber has opposed the expansion of gambling. Floridians have rejected expanded gambling three times in a row and lawmakers opposed big-casino efforts at expansion earlier this year. We maintain our longstanding position and will oppose future efforts to institutionalize Las Vegas-style casinos in Florida.
The first quarter spending on lobbyists by gaming interests came on the heels of more than $2.5 million being spent in 2011 by many of the same pro- and anti-gambling forces. It should be noted that not all of the money was directed toward the casino issue.
In 2011, Genting spent $645,000 for lobbyists, while Las Vegas Sands dealt $550,996 at the same time.
The Seminoles paid about $419,992 in compensation to lobbyists last year.
The Florida Chamber, which has its own in-house lobbyist, spent $259,992 on his efforts in 2011.
AIF, which also has its own in-house lobbying team, spent $689,982 in 2011.
A separate gaming issue that drew attention in the quarter was barrel racing at Gretna Racing in Gadsden County.
Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association, which opposed the new form of betting on horse racing, spent between $10,000 and $19,999 for a lobbyist during the quarter. Meanwhile, Creek Entertainment Gretna, which sought to usebarrel racing as a means to bring Las Vegas-style slot machines to Gadsden County, spent $20,001 to $39,998 for lobbying help in the same period.
Lottery Sales by District from May 1, 2011 through April 30, 2012
Tallahassee: $127,966,320.00
Pensacola: $265,688,834.50
Jacksonville: $306,695,051.50
Gainesville: $245,368,453.00
Orlando: $740,504,271.50
Tampa: $802,479,346.50
Fort Myers: $429,098,855.00
West Palm: $456,835,330.50
Miami: $1,000,691,993.00
Statewide: $4,375,329,455.5
The Fiscal Year 2011-12 Sales Goal for each Lottery sales district are as follows:
Tallahassee: $128.800,000
Pensacola: $258,100,000
Jacksonville: $301,450,000
Gainesville: $244.600,000
Orlando: $725,050,000
Tampa: $775,000,000
Fort Myers: $412,500,000
West Palm: $438,600,000
Miami: $965,000,000
Statewide: $4,249,100,000
Source: Florida Lottery.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
