On Monday, the Seminole Tribe of Florida released another television campaign to try and urge the state to extend the current gaming compact. The compact between the state and tribe will end on July 31st and the tribe is hoping the new statewide campaign will see an extension added to the original compact.
The new campaign is titled ‘Partnership’ and is the second advertisement of a series to features the Mark Wilson, the Florida Chamber of Commerce CEO, and Carol Dover, the CEO of the Restaurant and Lodging Association. Both Wilson and Dover state in the campaign that the Seminole compact has been beneficial for the state and economy, while helping to control the expansion of gaming.
In the ad, Wilson states that Florida is changing and this is why the contract needs to be extended a limit gambling. Changing the compact could lead to an expansion of gambling which is ‘unacceptable for a state that has worked hard to grow its economy and develop a family-friendly image’.
Dover’s portion of the advertisement discusses the compact and states that since it went into effect, the compact has generated over $1 billion in revenues for the state’s education programs, veterans services and health care, vital dollars the state cannot afford to lose.
The new advertisement was aired on television just one day after Florida Representative Dana Young filed a new proposal to see two new casinos built in South Florida as well as slot machine gaming at specific dog tracks within the state, which pushes the Seminole Tribe out of the industry. The?Seminole Tribe of Florida owns and operates several casinos in the state including?Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa.