The push to advance Florida gambling comes ahead of the state’s upcoming 2024 legislative session.
The proposed bill, SB 1054, aims to eliminate “a requirement that certain permitholders show that their permits have not been disapproved or recalled at a later election” from the application process. Applications are filed with the Florida Gaming Control Commission.
Other conditions of SB 1054 involve allowing greyhound dog racing permit holders to relocate, provided they meet “specific conditions.”
The state banned dog racing in 2020 after amending its constitution.
SB 1054 would also require that “a slot machine gaming area of a relocated pari-mutuel facility be at the location for which the relocation was approved,” according to the local report.
The Florida Gaming Control Commission is currently made up of five members that include account John D’Aquila, retired police chief Charles Drago, retired FBI agent Tina Repp, gambling law expert Louis Trombetta and the recently appointed Julie Imanuel Brown, who works as an attorney.
Brown was reappointed to serve on the commission by Governor Ron DeSantis back in May.
The question of how much gambling should be allowed in Florida has been up for debate for several years.
Online sports wagering statewide has been legal since May 2021 and the Seminole Tribe launched mobile gaming shortly after regulated sports betting laws were on the books.
But not long after the initial release, several lawsuits were filed in Florida by those who claimed that “the measure violated a constitutional amendment requiring voter approval or the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.”
A recent US Supreme Court decision to lift the temporary hold on Florida’s 2021 gambling agreement with the Tribe has once again opened the door to online gaming.
