In 2018, Florida voters took to the polls and took control over gaming expansion in the state. Amendment 3 gave residents the final decision on any measure that would involve new gambling opportunities and, since then, progress has been extremely slow. Part of the reason for the lack of serious progress is the control the state’s major tribe, the Seminole, has over the industry, but this isn’t the only reason. The requirement that voters decide gambling’s fate is also contributing to slow movement. However, this may not be the case for much longer, at least for sports gambling.

According to a report by Daniel Wallach on Forbes, the state may not have to seek public approval to launch sports gambling operations. Amendment 3 is worded in such a way that it covers all forms of “casino gambling.” Conspicuously absent from the bill’s language, though, is the mention of sports gambling. The phrase is also absent in Florida’s constitution. This means that lawmakers might be able to push forward with a sports gambling bill without asking for voters’ permission.

Asserts Wallach, the “language in Amendment 3 requiring that the alleged game be the type of game ‘typically found in casinos’ as of the date of the adoption of the amendment, which was November 6, 2018. Evaluation the casino landscape of that date, it became quite clear to me that sports betting was not ‘typically found in casinos’ as of that date for one incontrovertible reason: it was available in only 6 out of 30 states where casino gambling was allowed.”

Wallach points out that the Florida Supreme Court has already found, on at least one occasion (Zingale v. Powell, 885 So.2d 277, 282-83 (Fla. 2004), that the “explicit language” of the Constitution is what determines how the Constitution should be interpreted – not any implied language.