Doral City in Florida Passes Measure to Make Sure That Donald Trump’s Resort Does Not Have A Casino


Doral City in Florida Passes Measure to Ensure Donald Trump’s Resort Does Not Have A Casino. This is except approval is sought from residents. (Image by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash)

Donald Trump now has a lot of work to do in convincing many people if he wants the Trump National Doral Resort to have a casino. This week, council members of Doral City in Florida met and approved a measure that clearly proscribes casinos and gambling activities within the city except approval is sought from the local residents. This move is a direct response to the new gaming compact the state entered with the Seminole Tribe which gives them (the tribe) control of sports gambling.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida was given this virtual control as a reward for their ability to introduce casinos or a commercial casino in the South Florida area. Though the measure Doral adopted is not completely necessary, the city council still explicitly stated that the city will not make the addition of a casino to the local landscape easy and there will be no online casinos in Florida.

No Dice for Doral Casino

Some years ago, residents of Florida voted on Amendment 3 (a referendum) that allows them to decide where and when commercial casinos can be established in the state. When the state lawmakers and Ron DeSantis (Governor of Florida) signed off the new gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe, the agreement included a language that will allow Florida State to give out casino licenses as long as the venues did not infringe the tribal market areas.

This development has raised legal concerns and is poised to cause problems for potentially breaching the referendum even as the DOI (Department of the Interior) decides whether to remove, modify or leave the compact in place. Reports from Business Insider states that this past Wednesday, the Doral City Council voted to ban gambling and casino unless the residents of the city approve the activity via referendum.

This development is similar to the provision of Amendment 3 which makes the council’s effort superfluous but yet effective. This past May, the council had approved a related measure, but the latest approval guarantees that there is no question about the intention of the city. ‘Doral will do all it takes to stop anyone from making the Doral National resort to a gambling property’, said Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez.

South Florida Disapprove Seminole Gaming Compact

It is not only Doral that does not want to see a casino in its borders. Dan Gelber, mayor of Miami Beach wrote a letter to the Department of the Interior to request the rejection of the compact for reasons similar to Doral’s. Everyone knows that Donald Trump does not generally have a great track record, so whether they do not want to bring in a casino and see it fail or because they do not want to gamble, South Florida local leaders are doing all they can to prevent the approval of the new gaming compact.

Since last year, the news of the impending conversion of the Doral National resort into a gambling resort has been all over even as the property keeps on losing money. However, according to the language in Amendment 3, the contents of the Seminole gaming compact are expressly prohibited and lawmakers should have known that the residents will resist their effort.

Now, citizen-led initiatives are trying to impede the agreement as they argue that voters must approve any type of gambling extension in Florida even if it is conducted by the Seminole tribe. The Department of Interior is expected to announce its decision regarding the issue in the coming weeks. Even if the DOI backs off from the compact, there will still be legal challenges capable of preventing sports gambling from entering Florida.

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