A two-year investigation by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, with help from the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC), ended with 11 illegal casinos near Daytona being shut down.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that the operation combined with an earlier case in Nov., which saw more than 600 slot machines and $1.1 million cash seized.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood commented:
“Throughout Volusia County, we have these illegal gambling houses that are popping up all over," commented Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood. "It’s sort of like playing whack-a-mole: we’ll go in with a cease-and-desist order, they’ll temporarily shut down and then change locations and operate in a different venue.”
Detectives executed 11 simultaneous search warrants on July 25, seizing and disabling about 400 slot machines and over $400,000 in cash.
The dark side
One of the 11 illegal casinos in the investigation allegedly hauled in $37 million in slot machine gambling in 2023, churning a $5 million profit.
Chitwood also added that these operations are essentially stealing money since casino gambling is regulated in Florida, so no profits circulate back to the state for programs like the Florida Education Enhancement Trust Fund.
Each facility was found operating in neighborhoods with predominately elderly and low-income populations. Allegedly, the facilities provided catered meals to discourage patrons from leaving to get something to eat, which also gave the false guise that these establishments were no different from Florida's regulated casinos.
Legal challenges abound
Chitwood did not mince words with his opinion of how to mitigate these problems in the future:
“The Legislature needs to make a decision: either make it legal, and regulate it, or shut it down.”
Florida gambling laws limit casinos to Indian reservations, which the Seminole tribe has used in partnership with Hard Rock to effectively maintain a monopoly on sports betting in Florida.
In June, proponents of opening up the Florida sports betting and casino market to commercial operators mounted a legal battle that went all the way up to the highest court in the land, only for the Supreme Court to shoot down the request to review the current legal structure Hard Rock Bet operates within.
With so much gray area in the Sunshine State, even daily fantasy sports came under fire earlier this year, with PrizePicks, Underdog, and Betr all receiving cease-and-desist letters on January 31.
