Despite sixteen years of compact talks with the state of Florida, the Seminole Tribe seems no closer to getting Class III gaming machines. In September 2006 the outlook became brighter when the Secretary of the Interior warned Florida’s governor to reach a compact within 60 days or the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) would regulate and Florida would see none of the cash benefits a negotiated compact would bring. The deadline came on 25 November and went without further action.

As previously reported, the Seminole Tribe issued a lawsuit claiming that the Department of the Interior had ignored its own deadline without answering requests for reasons. The actual cause of the Department’s apparent disinclination to pursue the matter further would appear to be an October ruling in the Washington Court of Appeals. The ruling by the three sitting judges was that Congress had never granted the NIGC the right to regulate Class III gaming, only Classes I and II.

The new Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, is hopeful that the delay will give him time to still negotiate a compact with the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes. If he fails, the present legal impasse is likely to be resolved and Florida loses out on a lucrative source of revenue. Known as the state where Indian gaming was born, Florida has been accused of being the most anti-Indian state in the US. Maybe the present Governor will be able alter that perception before another sixteen years go by. (E-01.23.07)

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