A bill banning sweepstakes gaming and increasing illegal gambling penalties passed another crucial Senate committee in Florida.
Key takeaways
● A second Senate committee approved SB 1404.
● The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee will now consider it.
● The bill would ban sweepstakes and increase illegal gambling penalties.
The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government voted to give SB 1404, proposed by Sen. Corey Simon, a favorable report. This is the second favorable report from a Senate committee, and supporters now hope the Fiscal Policy Committee will similarly approve it.
Defining gambling
Simon’s bill would outlaw internet sports betting and internet gambling outside of the gaming compact Florida and the Seminole Tribe agreed to. It defines ‘internet gambling’ as a game played via the internet where users win money or an item of value based on chance.
This effectively means sweepstakes gambling, where players gamble on casino games using virtual tokens, would also be illegal, as some of the tokens can be exchanged for cash or prizes.
Daily Fantasy Sports aren't included in the proposal, though this is likely because a separate bill dealing with this form of gaming is currently going through the legislature. If Simon’s bill is passed, it would make illegal internet gambling a third-degree felony, and could become law as early as Oct. 1 this year.
Clarification required
Although the bill moved to a third committee, there were dissenting voices. Some committee members urged Simon to clarify precisely which forms of gaming would be illegal under the proposal.
Sen. Jason W.B. Pizzo and Sen. Colleen Burton voted to support the bill, but both said its language needed work, and Burton added had this been the final stage before the legislation became law, she would have voted against it.
More opposition came from representatives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. Both groups use gaming machines at their member venues for charitable fund-raising, and they expressed concern the bill is unclear on whether these devices will be illegal.
Florida’s gambling rules remain complex, as the state has a unique mixture of tribal casinos and so-called racinos, which feature horse racing and casino gambling.
Sports betting is legal at physical venues the Seminole Tribe of Florida operates and its online platform, Hard Rock Bet. Still, Florida’s attempts to establish a broader sports betting market have stalled in the legislature.
Last October, the Seminole Tribe and West Flager Associates resolved a lawsuit after a judge briefly blocked the 2021 compact agreement between the tribe and the state of Florida. The outcome resulted in Hard Rock Bet launching the World Jai-Alai League on its online platform.
