Online Gambling in Florida: an Expert Guide

Florida newspapers reported that Allied Veterans of the World, a St. Augustine-based charity organization which generated revenues via Internet sweepstakes cafes, collected $300 million in winnings but only paid $6 million to charities. When it was learned that Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll was a paid consultant for Allied Veterans, she resigned from office.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed HB 155, a bill which outlawed Internet sweepstakes cafes. HB 155 gained popularity in the wake of the Allied Veterans scandal. To this day, many anti-Internet cafe politicians in Florida continue to equate sweepstakes cafes with online gambling — a tenuous connection.

Gov. Rick Scott openly opposed Florida online gambling in public remarks on April 3, 2014. Scott said, “Although a national ban would be a better approach, I support a ban on internet gaming in Florida.”

Opponents of online gambling like Rick Scott cite the Section 849.08 of the Florida Statutes. They specifically cite the term “by any device whatever” in the following comment: “Whoever plays or engages in any game at cards, keno, roulette, faro, or other game of chance, at any place, by any device whatever, for money or other thing of value, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.”

During the 2018 gubernatorial campaign, GOP candidate Ron DeSantis opposed gambling expansion, though he declined to say whether he opposed online gambling. Then-Rep. DeSantis said, “Florida must remain a family-friendly state, and I do not advocate for the expansion of gambling.”

At the time, the storyline centered on Ron DeSantis’s opposition to Amendment 3. Florida newspapers reported he took money from opponents of Amendment 3, while he also worked as a paid consultant to Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul who opposes online gambling through the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling (CSIG). Thus, Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to be a devoted opponent of online gambling in Florida.

In the 2018 midterm elections, Floridians passed Amendment 3, which banned the expansion of gambling without a statewide vote. The Seminole Tribe and the Walt Disney Company paid a combined $36.3 million to back Amendment 3. Floridians also passed Amendment 13, which banned betting on dog track races.

Local law enforcement raided four sweepstakes cafes: Times Square Internet Sweepstakes Cafe, Lucky You 777, Cafe Gold Mine, and Dragon House. This followed similar raids in February 2018 and October 2018. Editorials in Florida newspapers called for officials to continue raids on Internet sweepstakes cafes, and for Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to prosecute the owners.