TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida is appealing a ruling that allowed the Seminole Tribe of Florida to keep blackjack at its well-known casinos in the state.
Attorneys for the state filed the appeal notice Thursday.
Last November, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in favor of the tribe. He decided that regulators working under Gov. Rick Scott allowed dog and horse tracks to put in card games that mimicked ones that were supposed to be exclusive to tribe-owned casinos for a five-year period. Hinkle ruled the tribe could keep blackjack for another 14 years.
Lawyers working for the state tried to get Hinkle to change his ruling, but he rejected their arguments.
The move by Florida to appeal the case comes amid a new push by some state legislators to expand gambling in the state.
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