Earlier this month, a judge in Florida said that racetracks aren’t allowed to run “designated-player” games, reminiscent of Ultimate Texas Hold’em and three-card poker, on account of a ban on house-banked games on the non-tribal gambling facilities.

According to a report from browardpalmbeach.com, the racetracks aren’t going to prevent the games, which involve a house-approved player sitting on the corner of the table and acting because the game’s bank. They've appealed the ruling, arguing that the games are legal.

The report talked about that the state’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering approved the games in 2012, however the politically powerful Seminole Tribe complained about them. Way to a compact with Florida, the Seminoles have a monopoly on house-banked table games. Non-banked games, i.e. traditional poker, are legal on the racinos.

“Given the stern statutory prohibition against gambling, the intricate regulatory scheme imposed, and the narrow carve out for cardrooms, the games can't be allowed to continue to function within the current manner,” the executive law judge wrote within the 54-page ruling, in keeping with the Miami Herald. “The basic [tenet] of the cardroom statute is that authorized games don't seem to be casino gaming since the participants ‘play against each other.’ As currently operated, the designated player is a player in name only. The prevailing operation of the games does not more than establish a bank against which participants play.”

In a separate case, the Seminoles and the state are still working to return to terms on a brand new compact, which might keep the revenue sharing alive and make allowance the tribe to maintain some exclusivity. The former compact expired last year.

Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]