The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government on Tuesday voted to give Sen. Corey Simon’s (R-3) SB 1404 a favorable report. The measure would increase penalties for illegal sports betting and gambling, while also banning sweepstakes gaming in the Sunshine State.
“Without more substantial penalties, illegal gambling will continue to spread, siphoning money from Florida,” Simon said at the hearing.
Simon’s bill successfully moved through two Senate committees and will next be heard by members of the fiscal policy committee.
SB 1404 also proposes stricter penalties for illegal gambling operators, including making it a third-degree felony to operate or promote wagering on an event knowing the results “are prearranged or predetermined.”
In addition, it would make “Internet gambling” and “Internet sports wagering” a misdemeanor offense for bettors. The measure calls for “an outstanding declaratory statement” to avoid misleading bettors as well.
If signed into law, the bill will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2025.
Florida Senate Bill 1404 Includes Sweepstakes Gaming, Offshore Casino Sites
The bill’s definition of internet gambling is playing a game “in which money or other thing of value” is won by chance and simulates “casino-style gaming,” such as slot machines and table games.
Sweepstakes casinos fall under that category, as well as offshore casino gambling sites. The measure includes betting money or any “other thing of value.”
Sweeps operators use a “dual currency” system that lets players play for free. However, the operators also allow users to wager and win real money by buying virtual coins.
Furthermore, Simon told the Florida Senate’s Regulated Industries Committee last month that SB 1404 would make it a third-degree felony to operate a gambling house.
“Illegal gambling in Florida is a growing crisis,” the state senator said. “Illegal gambling operations are spreading across Florida, exploiting weak penalties to operate with little fear or consequences. Adult arcades with blacked-out windows are multiplying, run by criminal organizations that treat minor fines as the cost of doing business.”
If passed, SB 1404 would prohibit all non-Seminole forms of online gambling.