DraftKings and FanDuel support Florida's sports betting expansion bid
US heavyweight rivals spearhead political action committee Florida Education Champions
Documents filed in Florida have linked DraftKings and FanDuel with plans to include parimutuels, sports stadiums and mobile wagering in the Sunshine State’s sports betting legislation.
The initiative, which takes the form of a proposed constitutional amendment, is backed by Florida Education Champions (FEC), a Florida-based not for profit and political action committee (PAC).
PACs are organizations formed to pool contributions from interest groups in political campaigning, ballot initiatives or legislator changes.
Filings lodged with Florida’s Department of State Division of Corporations confirm that FEC, which was only formed earlier this month, has three directors.
DraftKings VP of government affairs Griffin Finan and his opposite number at FanDuel, Cory Fox, are both listed as directors, along with a third lobbyist in Jeremy Kudon, who has worked with both firms as partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
The ballot initiative, which would be voted on in November 2022, would require a 60% vote to pass.
It includes provisos to allow exclusive access to operators which have been authorised to conduct online sports betting in at least 10 states for one year, as well as Native American tribes who already have a gaming compact with the state.
Operators meeting this criterion would then face an eight-month delay before they can begin operating in Florida.
“No sooner than 20 months after the effective date of this amendment, online sports and event betting may be conducted by other entities and organizations if authorized in accordance with general law,” the amendment states.
“Entities and organizations conducting sports and event betting may use a brand of their choice and shall not be required to engage a market-access partner. Persons may register for sports and event betting accounts and make deposits and withdrawals to such accounts remotely online,” it adds.
All tax revenue proceeds derived from newly legalized vertical would be funnelled into Florida’s Department for Education.
In May, Florida senators approved a new 30-year tribal gaming compact with the Seminole tribe, granting the tribe significant control over Florida’s gambling market while allowing sports betting for the first time.
Competing operators can enter the state’s sports betting market but must operate as skins under technology provided by the Seminole’s gaming partner Hard Rock Digital.
As part of this arrangement, any operator using the Seminole platform is required to pay 40% of its revenue to the tribe – a potential deterrent for prospective operators.
At the time, it was reported operators including DraftKings, FanDuel and Barstool had submitted proposals to expand into Florida, working with Hard Rock.
Separate legislation to legalize DFS failed to gain traction and was shelved until the next session of the Florida Senate.