Florida Gambling Rule Takes Aim at Controversial Card Games

A new rule floated by Florida gambling regulators holds a price tag of $50 million a year and could cost hundreds of jobs, according to a lawyer representing several of the state's cardroom operators.

The regulation in question, proposed late last month by the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, would make a number of changes and effectively do away with controversial “designated player” card games that have been lucrative for pari-mutuel facilities across the state.

The games have played a central role in a legal dispute between the Seminole Tribe and the state, and the proposed rule followed a revamped agreement inked last month by Gov. Rick Scott and the tribe. That agreement is an outgrowth of a 2010 deal in which the tribe promised to pay the state at least $1 billion over five years in exchange for exclusive rights to offer “banked” card games, such as blackjack, at most of its Florida casinos.