DeSantis signs bill putting tribal gambling revenues toward wildlife preservation

A Florida law signed Thursday will allocate revenues from legal gambling in the state to wildlife conservation.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation that allocates 96 percent of state income from the Seminole Tribe Compact, the agreement with the state that allows the tribe to offer online sports betting and casino gambling, to improve water quality infrastructure and management. The law, Senate Bill 1638, appropriates a total of $200 million to land purchases and management for a protected wildlife corridor in the state and removal of invasive species.

After the next fiscal year, the law will dedicate either 26 percent of the gaming revenues or $100 million, whichever figure is lower, to those purposes.

“Among Florida’s greatest assets are its natural resources,” DeSantis said in a statement. “This revenue stream will further enhance our efforts to conserve our natural resources, protect our waterways, and make our ecological infrastructure more resilient.”

DeSantis has taken action to improve the state’s resilience against the effects of climate change and preserve areas such as the Everglades, which led to a number of skirmishes between him and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley while both were 2024 presidential candidates.

Haley took aim at the governor both in televised debates and on the campaign trail for his support of legislation to ban fracking in the state and his opposition to offshore drilling. DeSantis has defended his position on fracking as specific to Florida rather than reflective of national policies he would have implemented as president, while opposition to drilling offshore Florida is a mainstream position among Florida Republicans shared by Sens. Marco Rubio (R) and Rick Scott (R).  

The gaming agreement, which DeSantis and the tribe reached in 2021, is expected to generate about $6 billion in revenues for the state through the end of the decade.