Bill McCollum

Attorney General Bill McCollum says he has some concerns about the gaming compact that Gov. Charlie Crist signed with the Seminole Indian Tribe on Monday.

But he says the ultimate decision as to whether to accept the deal is up to the state Legislature.

McCollum still insists that until an agreement is approved by lawmakers, the Seminoles are operating cards games at their casinos in violation of state law.

The tribe has continued offering banked card games and class III slot machines even though the Florida Supreme Court threw out the original compact with the state that permitted them to operate those games.

The justices ruled Gov. Charlie Crist lacked authority to enter that agreement without legislative approval.

Meanwhile, Crist says he’s more concerned about what happens if the Legislature doesn’t approve the new deal which would provide the state with a minimum of $150 million a year for 20 years.

Nearly all the money would be used for public schools, state and community colleges, and state universities.

“My concern if we don’t, the Legislature doesn’t, is that the federal government will allow them to do it anyway and then we won’t get a dime of the money,” said Crist.

“Right now the Seminole Indians in my judgment and I think anybody else who looks at it from a law stand point, are committing a crime in the state of Florida but we have no way to enforce that. It can only be enforced by the federal government. However, if the get a compact, whatever terms the compact are, if the Legislature approves it and it goes through and so forth of course then it’ll be the law of the state,” said McCollum.

The agreement signed Monday by Gov. Crist and the tribe would allow blackjack and other banked card games at all seven Seminole Indian casinos -including Broward County locations- not just the four that the Legislature authorized when setting parameters on the deal last spring.