Seminoles Could Hurt Tourism

There is a concern among those in the state of Florida that the approval of slot machines in the state could end up hurting their tourism business. According to Florida Legislature’s Chief Economist Amy Baker, giving the tribe the ability to expand and have slot machines and table games could be very damaging to the rest of the state.

Baker says that the slot machine deal will actually take $95 million from the tourism and convention business and give the tribe a competitive advantage over every other business in the state. They are in the process of rewriting the deal that Governor Charlie Crist made with the Seminole Tribe, and they say that they think the original deal is a bad idea.

Baker says that the existing tax rate that the horse and dog tracks, as well as the Jai-alai frontons will give the Seminoles a $272 million tax advantage just from adding all the slot machines that they were approved for. As they don’t have to pay a slot machine tax because they are a sovereign nation, they will have a much bigger advantage over all of the other gambling and tourist businesses.

This means that big names like Universal Studios and Walt Disney World would now be at a disadvantage to the Seminoles and their slot machines as well. The Seminoles have been lobbying to keep the rights that were bestowed upon them by Crist back in November of 2007. They want to be able to offer Class III slot machines, and under federal law they can have them because Broward County now offers them as well.
 

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