Bill > S1580

Introduced Session

An act relating to illegal gaming; repealing s. 849.23, F.S., relating to penalties and violations related to illegal gambling; amending s. 16.71, F.S.; requiring that the Florida Gaming Control Commission, rather than the chair of the commission, appoint an inspector general; authorizing the commission to delegate any of the duties and powers of an agency head to a commissioner, with an exception; amending s. 16.712, F.S.; revising the information to be included in the commission’s annual report to the Governor and the Legislature; amending s. 16.713, F.S.; authorizing a person who is ineligible for employment with the commission to submit a waiver request to the commission asking to be considered eligible for employment if the person possesses certain expertise or experience; requiring the commission to consider such requests on a case-by-case basis and to approve or deny such requests; providing that such person is eligible for employment with the commission if the waiver request is approved by the commission; providing applicability; providing the standard of review for such waiver requests; authorizing the commission to adopt rules; amending s. 16.715, F.S.; revising the standards of conduct for current and former commissioners and employees of the commission; revising the persons who may not hold permits or licenses relating to gaming within a certain timeframe; prohibiting such persons from accepting employment or compensation from or engaging in any business activity with certain persons or entities for a specified timeframe; authorizing certain employees to request that the commission waive certain postemployment restrictions for a certain purpose; requiring the commission to consider and approve or deny each waiver request on a case-by-case basis; authorizing the commission to adopt rules; amending s. 20.055, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made by the act; amending s. 546.10, F.S.; authorizing certain veterans’ service organizations to petition the commission for a declaratory statement to determine whether a game or machine is authorized by law before such organizations purchase or install such game or machine; prohibiting the purchase or installation of a game or machine awaiting such declaratory statement until the declaratory statement has been issued; authorizing veterans’ service organizations that have a game or machine already installed on their premises to petition the commission for a declaratory statement to determine whether a game or machine is authorized by law; prohibiting such veterans’ service organizations from petitioning the commission if the game, machine, premises, or organization is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation; requiring the commission to issue the declaratory statement or deny the petition for a declaratory statement within a specified timeframe; prohibiting the commission from denying a veterans’ service organization’s petition that is validly requested; providing that a petition is deemed complete if the petition includes certain information; providing that the declaratory statement is valid only for the game or machine for which it was requested; providing that a declaratory statement is invalid if the specifications of the game or machine have changed; providing that the declaratory statement is binding on the commission and may be introduced in subsequent proceedings as evidence of a good faith effort to comply with certain provisions; providing construction; amending s. 551.107, F.S.; requiring the commission to consider and approve or deny waiver requests on a case-by-case basis; providing the standard of review for certain actions of the commission; making technical changes; amending s. 782.04, F.S.; revising the underlying felonies for felony murder of the second degree to include keeping a gambling house; amending s. 838.12, F.S.; providing criminal penalties for persons who stake, bet, or wager any money or other thing of value upon the result of certain games, contests, matches, races, or sports if such persons have knowledge that the outcome of the games, contests, matches, races, or sports is prearranged or predetermined; making technical changes; amending s. 843.08, F.S.; revising a prohibition on false personation of certain persons to include any personnel or representative of the commission; amending ss. 849.01 and 849.02, F.S.; revising the criminal penalties for persons who keep a gambling house or are agents or employees of a keeper of a gambling house, respectively; defining the term “course of conduct”; prohibiting a person from knowingly or recklessly benefit or participate in a course of conduct in furtherance of illegal gambling; creating s. 849.021, F.S.; defining the terms “government employee” and “political subdivision”; prohibiting a government employee from knowingly certifying, licensing, approving, aiding, facilitating, or concealing the operation of a gambling house; providing criminal penalties; providing applicability; creating s. 849.023, F.S.; defining terms; providing that violations of certain laws are deemed immediate and serious dangers to public health, safety, and welfare; authorizing the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the commission, or the Office of Financial Regulation to summarily suspend the license of certain persons violating such laws; authorizing a licensee or an applicant to retain, apply for, or be reissued a license if the license-issuing agency finds that such licensee has removed the controlling person violating such laws from the business; providing that a licensee is subject to a specified fine; amending s. 849.03, F.S.; revising the criminal penalties for persons who rent or lease a house for gambling purposes; defining the term “knowingly”; amending s. 849.08, F.S.; defining terms; providing criminal penalties for persons who play, engage in, operate, conduct, or promote Internet gambling or Internet sports wagering; providing applicability; amending s. 849.086, F.S.; revising the prohibited activities of licensed cardrooms; providing criminal penalties for violations of such prohibitions; republishing s. 849.09, F.S., relating to the prohibition against lotteries; amending s. 849.11, F.S.; providing criminal penalties for persons who play in person, or by the use of the Internet, certain games of chance; providing criminal penalties for persons who set up, operate, conduct, promote, or receive any money or other thing of value for certain prohibited conduct; amending s. 849.13, F.S.; revising the criminal penalties for persons convicted of a second or subsequent violation in connection with lotteries; reclassifying certain criminal violations to the next level higher in the Criminal Punishment Code’s offense severity ranking chart; amending s. 849.14, F.S.; making technical changes; amending s. 849.15, F.S.; defining terms; revising criminal penalties relating to persons owning or operating slot machines or devices; providing that all shipments of legal slot machines into Indian lands are deemed legal shipments under certain circumstances; creating s. 849.155, F.S.; providing criminal penalties for persons who knowingly sell, purchase, manufacture, transport, deliver, or bring into this state more than a specified number of slot machines or devices or any parts thereof; defining the term “parts thereof”; providing for fines for specified violations; providing that any county in which slot machine gaming is authorized is exempt from certain federal provisions; providing that all shipments of slot machines into any county in this state are deemed legal shipments if specified requirements are met; providing that all shipments of legal gaming devices into Indian lands located within this state are deemed legal shipments under certain circumstances; requiring that any fines imposed and collected be deposited into the Pari-mutuel Wagering Trust Fund to be used for a specified purpose; creating s. 849.157, F.S.; prohibiting persons from knowingly and willfully making or disseminating materially false or misleading statements or information regarding the legality of a slot machine or device to facilitate the sale of such slot machine or device; providing criminal penalties; amending s. 849.18, F.S.; revising the circumstances under which a judge may order a slot machine, apparatus, or device seized; authorizing the commission to destroy a seized machine, apparatus, or device after a specified timeframe if no arrests or criminal charges have been filed and no person files a claim for such machine, apparatus, or device; creating s. 849.181, F.S.; providing legislative intent; defining terms; authorizing a criminal justice agency having custody of excess slot machines related to a legal proceeding or ongoing criminal investigation to destroy such machines if the criminal justice agency takes certain actions; requiring that written descriptions of such slot machines be made under oath by the investigating law enforcement officer before the slot machines are destroyed; requiring that photographs and video recordings of such slot machines be authenticated by the photographer’s or videographer’s signature; requiring that a law enforcement officer create written and sworn documentation of certain information regarding a destroyed slot machine; providing that such photographs or video recordings may be deemed competent evidence and may be admissible in a prosecution to the same extent as if such slot machines were introduced as evidence; providing severability; creating s. 849.47, F.S.; defining the term “illegal gambling”; prohibiting persons from knowingly and willfully transporting, or procuring the transportation of, certain persons into this state for the purpose of illegal gambling; providing criminal penalties; creating s. 849.48, F.S.; defining the term “illegal gambling”; prohibiting persons from advertising illegal gambling or setting up any type or plate for any type for advertising illegal gambling; providing criminal penalties; providing exceptions; creating s. 849.49, F.S.; prohibiting counties, municipalities, or other political subdivisions from enacting or enforcing any ordinance or local rule relating to certain gaming and gambling activities; creating s. 849.51, F.S.; providing legislative findings; creating the Limited Slot Machine Surrender Program within the commission; providing the purpose of the program; providing that the surrender of any slot machine to the commission is irrevocable and final; providing that an individual or organization that surrenders a slot machine pursuant to the program is immune from criminal prosecution; requiring that the program begin and end within specified timeframes; requiring the commission to advertise the program before a specified timeframe; providing that a person or entity that surrenders a gaming device does not have any rights of the property inside the slot machine; authorizing the commission to enter into memoranda of understanding with other criminal justice agencies to administer the program; amending s. 903.046, F.S.; revising the circumstances a court must consider when determining whether to release a defendant on bail or other conditions; amending s. 921.0022, F.S.; revising the ranking of certain offenses on the offense severity ranking chart of the Criminal Punishment Code; amending ss. 772.102, 849.17, 849.18, 849.20, 849.21, 849.22, and 895.02, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; providing an effective date.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Jonathan Martin (R)*, 

Other Sponsors (1)

Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Hearing (13:30:00 2/25/2026 412 Knott Building) (on 02/25/2026)

Official Document