Judge denies Florida’s request to reconsider Seminole gambling ruling

Seminole Tribe – 2, Florida – 0.

Florida’s Seminole Tribe scored another victory in its legal battle against the state this week, when a judge upheld his ruling that Florida violated its gambling agreement with the tribe.

A quick recap: In November, Federal Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that the state had violated the terms of its 20-year gambling compact with the tribe by allowing pari-mutuel gaming operators to offer so-called ‘designated-player’ card games. These games feature one player at each table nominally acting as the house, although in practice the role is generally farmed out to third-party companies due to the financial requirements.

Gov. Rick Scott‘s administration has appealed to Hinkle to reconsider his ruling. Hinkle did respond, but with a two-page order that denied the state government’s request.