With the worlds of sports and sports betting seemingly awash with scandalous news lately, two Florida lawmakers are proposing to make it a felony for someone to wager on a game if they know shenanigans are afoot.
Webster Barnaby, a Republican member of Florida’s House of Representatives, filed House Bill 953 on Monday, ahead of the start of the Sunshine State's regular legislative session on March 4.
Republican State Sen. Corey Simon (a former NFL defensive tackle) has likewise filed Senate Bill 1404.
Both bills would amend Florida law to prohibit “betting on athletic contests with knowledge that the results are prearranged or predetermined.”
For example, the legislation would make it a third-degree felony for anyone to wager with intel about the fix being in, such as a heads-up about someone planning to throw a game or shave points.
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Both bills would also make it a crime for someone to play in online casinos or use online sportsbooks that are not the property of the state's Seminole Tribe, which has exclusive rights to those types of offerings in Florida. Any iGaming or online sports betting play would be considered a first or second-degree misdemeanor.
The legislation would make it illegal to operate an online casino or online sportsbook in Florida as well, unless you're the Seminole Tribe. According to the bills, anyone who isn't the tribe would be guilty of a third-degree felony.
Moreover, the language in the bills looks like it could apply to online sweepstakes casinos and sportsbooks, as it mentions the wagering with an “other thing of value,” not just money. Anti-sweepstakes legislation is being mulled over in other states, such as Mississippi.
At any rate, the odds of either bill passing are arguably long. The proposed measures are just two of many the Florida legislature could consider during its upcoming session, and there is no guarantee they make much headway.
Covers reached out to Barnaby’s office and the Florida Gaming Control Commission for further explanation about the need and timing of the proposed legislation but had not heard back at the time of publish.
A timely introduction
Nevertheless, the introduction of the bills follows a steady drip of betting-related scandals in the news cycle. On Tuesday, for instance, Sports Illustrated shed further light on what allegedly appears to be "one of the most pervasive point-shaving scandals in North American sports history," with potential ties to the Jontay Porter controversy that rocked the NBA.
While such scandals have been around for as long as humans have wagered on sports, and while the industry has argued their exposure more recently is proof of the regulated system working, that can be hard to sell to the public and to lawmakers.
The Florida sports betting bills filed this month also take aim at bettors with inside info, rather than athletes or other officials who may try to engage in any funny business.
That doesn’t mean it’s legal for someone in Florida to throw a game for money, though. The section of law the bills seek to amend also makes it illegal to bribe someone to fix a game and for athletes to accept or solicit those bribes.
NEW: Two Florida lawmakers have pre-filed bills to extend FL’s statutory prohibition against gambling to include both “Internet gambling” and “Internet sports wagering.” Another sweepstakes casino ban (maybe more). Punishable as a third-degree felony. pic.twitter.com/raiVPFznd6
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) February 27, 2025
The provisions in the proposed legislation that target non-Seminole forms of online gambling reflect the tribe’s firm grasp over such forms of gaming in the state, which was won through a compact with the governor and successfully defended by the federal government in court.
The Seminole-owned Hard Rock Bet is the only authorized online sportsbook in Florida. And while there is no legal iGaming in the state yet, the tribe would have the inside track on being the entity that ultimately gets to offer it.
