So where do we go from here? That's the question after the Florida Legislature's recent announcement it was again punting on bringing order to the state's chaotic gambling laws.

It was apparent from the start that this year's legislative session would end like previous ones. Gambling, it seems, is a subject that is simply too big to be handled by the Legislature. Although Sen.Garrett Richter,R-Naples, offered his colleagues a useful roadmap, his plan didn't stand a chance. There were too many parochial interests.

Richter's bill also suffered from the fact that 2014 is an election year, which meant that even if his bill had passed it likely would have been vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott.

So, where do we go from here? At the moment, we're not going anywhere, which means that Florida will remain a state that officially is anti-gambling but which in reality has all sorts of gambling.

Some observers are already pinning their hopes on 2015, figuring that with the elections behind them, and the Seminole gambling compact expiring, the Legislature finally will get down to business. And possibly they're right. After all, if he's re-elected, Scott will be unable to run again because of terms limits. So, he won't have to pander to his conservative base.

If Crist returns to the governor's mansion, he's already shown that he's willing to deal, as he did in 2010 when he signed the Seminole gambling compact.

But, betting on the Legislature to do anything more than extend the compact, and perhaps make the Seminoles pay a little extra in exchange for some additional concessions, seems like a sucker's bet. After all, this is the same group that couldn't find the political will this year to pass a bill that would have required greyhound tracks to report animal injuries, leaving Florida as one of only two states without such a requirement.

There is, of course, a better way. And that better way begins by letting the people decide. Some issues are too important to be left to politicians, and gambling is one of them. Thus, it's time for a "local option" gambling amendment.

On alcohol, guns, and judicial elections, the Florida Constitution already lets each county's voters decide how they want to proceed. For example, each county gets to decide whether it wants to be "wet" or "dry." The same approach should be used when it comes to gambling. That way, each county could decide how much, if any, gambling it wants.

Back in 2004, voters actually added a "limited" local-option gambling amendment to the state Constitution. Proposition 4 asked if Broward and Miami-Dade counties should be given the option of allowing slot machines in their pari-mutuels. The measure passed, and in 2005 Broward residents decided their pari-mutuels should have slots. Miami-Dade's residents took the same step in 2008, which is why pari-mutuels in the two counties have slot machines while pari-mutuels in Florida's 65 other counties do not.

Prior to the start of the 2014 legislative session, House Speaker Will Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz considered a gambling amendment, but it was tied to passage of a comprehensive reform bill and so had no chance of passage.

In an editorial in December 2013, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel rejected the idea of a constitutional amendment and instead implored Weatherford and Gaetz to demonstrate leadership by fixing the state's hodgepodge gambling laws. We now know that that plea fell on deaf ears.

Thus, it's time for the people to take over the job. As the old saying goes, if you want something done right (or in this case, done at all), you have to do it yourself.

Robert M. Jarvis is a professor of law at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, where he teaches gambling law.

Editor's Note: State Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach still hopes to help dog tracks and greyhounds. See her views at SunSentinel.com/Floridasgamble.