COCONUT CREEK, Fla. — The Seminole Tribe hosted a series of celebrations Thursday at its Broward County casinos after craps, roulette and sports betting officially became options for casino guests.
“Are you all excited to be here today?” Seminole Tribe Gaming CEO Jim Allen asked the crowd at the Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek during Thursday’s ceremony. .
During the event, the first games of craps and roulette began.
The tribe’s online sports betting app is also now available to Florida residents 21 and older.
“We are having a great day here at Coconut Creek Casino and all of our Seminole Hard Rock properties in Florida as we launch craps, roulette and sports betting in-person as well as on mobile across the state of Florida,” Allen said on WPTV told.
The Seminole Tribe signed a new agreement with the state of Florida in 2021 that gave them the green light to expand.
The move quickly drew opposition, with two Florida casino owners filing a legal challenge. They asked the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court to decide whether the agreement violates federal law by “expanding gaming off Indian lands.”
“Unfortunately, there was a legal challenge, but we complied and in the last 30 days both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court ruled in our favor, allowing us to move forward. ,” Allen said.
This expansion has raised several concerns for the Florida Compulsive Gambling Council.
“Anytime there’s expansion, more people are participating in that type of activity, which increases the potential for problems to arise,” said Jennifer Kruse, the council’s executive director.
Kruse would like to remind Floridians that they can call or text 888-ADMIT-IT for help.
“The vast majority of people who gamble do so responsibly,” Kruse said. “But for the 1 to 3 percent of people for whom it’s a problem, it can cause a lot of problems in different areas of life.”
The Seminole Nation hopes this expansion will continue to spur economic growth in Florida.
“This agreement will be reinstated, over $650 million will go to the state of Florida for all of us, and obviously thousands of jobs will be created again,” Allen said. “So that’s something we’re very proud of.”