Anti-gambling coalition warns ‘perfect storm’ gathering for gambling expansion

TALLHASSEE (FBW) – Pro-family leaders held a news conference in Tallahassee today to warn a “perfect storm” of mounting state budget deficits and a pending gambling compact with the Seminole Indian Tribe, although invalidated by the Florida Supreme Court, may result in an expansion of gambling in Florida.

Meanwhile, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has requested federal law enforcement officials to “commence a criminal prosecution” of the Seminole Tribe for “conducting illegal Class III gaming activity on its Indian lands in disregard of federal law.”

McCollum made the request in a Dec. 17 letter to A. Brian Albritton, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, pointing to the expansion of its operation of illegal “banked” games – like blackjack and baccarat – by the Seminoles at its casinos in Tampa and Immokalee. The illegal games were permitted as part of the compact the Supreme Court declared invalid in July.

“In my constitutional role as Florida’s chief legal officer, I am deeply concerned that the Tribe continues to defiantly ignore the decision of the Florida Supreme Court. There can be no dispute that operating banked card games is contrary to Florida law,” McCollum wrote.

“Only swift enforcement action will stop the illegal gaming activities and force the Tribe to negotiate with the State of Florida for a valid compact,” he concluded.

The pro-family coalition news conference was led by Bill Bunkley, legislative consultant for the Florida Baptist Convention, and also included the Christian Coalition of Florida and the Florida Family Policy Council.

Bunkley, a longtime member of Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, praised the actions “to date” of the Florida House “in their thoughtful and deliberate action” challenging the legality of the Crist-Seminole compact before the Supreme Court. He urged the current House leadership “to follow the lead of their predecessors in opposing this compact, now that they have won the right to participate in its outcome.”

Bunkley, who spoke by phone because his flight to Tallahassee was delayed by weather, added, “This is a time for Florida statesmen and stateswomen. This is a time to stand up to the special interest groups and avoid the easy way out. This is a time to protect our way of life and the great family friendly reputation Florida enjoys today around the globe. It is time to do the right thing. It is time to stop the expansion of gambling.”

Dennis Baxley, executive director of Christian Coalition and former state representative, said that gambling expansion “pours resources down a black hole,” never delivering on the economic development promises of its proponents.

Baxley is a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Belleview.

Money spent on gambling is “dollars that will not be spent to pay the rent, purchase a vehicle, pay child support, meet family health care needs, or feed a family,” Baxley said.

“While we would like to believe gambling dollars are largely discretionary entertainment dollars, closer analysis shows us that these are in large part gambling addiction dollars being spent at great expense to the family, often by those who can least afford it and it results in a heavy tax on the poorest families,” he added, later noting he chaired a gambling-related committee while a member of the Florida House.

Nathan Dunn, vice president of public policy of Florida Family Policy Council, outlined gambling’s negative consequences, calling them the “ABC’s of gambling – addiction, bankruptcy and crime.”

Dunn is a member of Thomasville Road Baptist Church in Tallahassee.

He noted the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling reported in 2002 that the Sunshine State has a higher percentage of problem and pathological gamblers, .08 percent, than the rest of the nation, .04 percent, and Florida’s “at risk population” is nearly twice the national average.

Dunn said also a national study found that counties with gambling had a bankruptcy-filing rate 18 percent higher than those without.

“By evaluating the results from other communities we know that when Class III gaming is permitted the crime rate is nearly twice the national average,” he said.

Dunn said the coalition wants to protect Florida’s “treasured position as a family-friendly state” and in the midst of discussions about the invalidated Seminole compact, to “shine a light on what is being overlooked – the impact on our families.

“Given the overwhelming data showing the destructive results of gambling, we urge Florida’s leaders to say ‘no’ to any [gambling] expansion,” he said.

The news conference was held the same day as the organizational meeting of the Select Committee on Seminole Compact Review, which was appointed by House Speaker Ray Sansom earlier this month to study the agreement between Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminole Indian Tribe. The committee is expected to make recommendations to the House of Representatives in time for the regular 2009 legislative session, which begins March 3.

Senate President Jeff Atwater and Sansom announced Dec. 15 a special session Jan. 5-16 for the purpose of addressing the 2007-2008 budget shortfall. Although the Seminole compact does not appear to be under consideration for the special session, the Orlando Sentinel reported Dec. 16 the governor is hoping to allocate $137.5 million in proceeds from the compact to help balance the current year’s budget deficit.