Miami-Dade Voters Wooed by Slots

Learn more from these gambling fact sheets:

Gambling Availability, Accessibility and Addiction   

Gambling's Impact on Families

Childhood and Adolescent Gambling

Gambling Availability and Addiction

Video Lottery Terminals and Electronic Gambling Devices

Gambling and Suicide

Gambling and Crime

Gambling and Organized Crime

Gambling and Bankruptcy

Indian Gambling

Biblical Stewardship Parables

Gambling Research Library

The ABCs of Gambling:

• Addiction
• Bankruptcy
• Crime
• Destruction of marriages and families
• Suicide

Focus on the Family wrote a letter to Florida church leaders asking them to speak about gambling from the pulpit and urge congregants to vote "No" when asked to expand gambling on the January ballot. Read, print and distribute these letters to your home church or church leader.

• Focus on the Family Letter (English) 
• Focus on the Family Letter (Spanish)

Florida Facts

The state of Florida is saturated with multiple forms of gambling. According to a gambling-promotion Web site, Florida has approximately 146 different gambling venues, with many more opportunities to gamble.¹ 

Casino cruise lines continue to expand in Florida. As of August 2005, at least 11 casino cruise lines operated out of 14 port cities in Florida.² Florida's coastal location is home to hundreds of gambling cruises.

Florida's Lottery sold $4 billion in tickets and took $1.2 billion in revenues last year alone.³ Florida's lottery was sold to the public as a "supplement" to state education money, not to supplant school funding. But today, Florida's lottery revenue largely replaces state funding for education, which creates a very awkward situation. Children are told not to gamble, yet educational funds are held hostage to the lottery's performance.

Lotteries flatten out as they mature, due to jackpot fatigue or general lack of interest. Lotteries never have been a stable form of revenue. Lottery dollars once "earmarked" for education become fodder for more "urgent" needs, leaving lottery-dependent education programs in a lurch.

Florida's lottery has not expanded to a multi-state lottery yet, but privatization of the lottery is being considered. CBS News recently covered this disturbing lottery trend and found many citizens and officials regret their votes to approve state lotteries for the purpose of funding education. (Read the CBS report.)

Tribal casinos remain another threat to Florida families. The vastly rich Seminole Tribe of Florida operates seven Class II casinos in Florida, and the Miccosukee Tribe operates the eighth Indian casino in Miami. Florida's Seminole tribe consists of about 3,300 members. In December of 2006, the wealthy Seminole Tribe purchased the entire Hard Rock Café Entertainment line for $965 million, including 124 signature Hard Rock Cafes with 68 company-owned Hard Rock Cafe Restaurants and retail stores in 45 countries.       

Florida's eight Indian casinos combined operate more than 8,600 gambling machines, taking in approximately $1.6 billion in revenue from Florida gamblers last year.³ These Class II machines could become Las Vegas-style Class III machines, if Miami-Dade County approves the racino legislation or if Gov. Crist approves Class III gambling in a compact. Texas recently refused to allow tribal gambling and won its case. Urge Gov. Christ and Florida's Attorney General to do the same.

Texas' Victory Over Federal Imposition

In a win for the state of Texas state sovereignty, the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Friday that a federal law forcing the issue of casino-style gambling onto Texas oversteps the federal government's boundaries.  Overriding Texas laws against casino-style gambling, the U.S. Department of the Interior recently enforced procedures that would force state officials to either negotiate unlawful gambling with the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, or allow the feds to take over.  Texas filed the lawsuit that it won last Friday against the agency, earning an opinion that affirms state input in any federal decision regarding gambling in our state.

Racinos are race tracks that have been converted into casinos by adding slot machines. The horse- and dog-racing industry is trying to remain viable, but modern generations have no interest in the sport or this form of gambling. During the past decade, dog and horse tracks have seen a sharp decline in popularity and revenue.

TheNational Gambling Impact Study Comission's final report recommends against propping this form of gambling up with another form of gambling:

Recommendation 3.12

"The Commission recommends that states should refuse to allow the introduction of casino-style gambling into pari-mutuel facilities for the primary purpose of saving a pari-mutuel facility that the market has determined no longer serves the community or for the purpose of competing with other forms of gambling."

Broward County approved racino legislation in 2005, while Miami-Dade rejected racino legislation. The pari-mutuel industry, however, can propose new racino legislation in Miami-Dade County every two years (2005, 2007, 2009, ...). Citizens are wise to reject such legislation, as it expands the accessibility and availability of addictive gambling.

Florida Legislators continue to waver on gambling issues.  View your Florida House Representatives' voting score on gambling issues.