Florida Senate Committee Considers Banning Online Sweepstakes Promotions

A bill to ban online sweepstakes’ casino games is gaining traction after receiving approval in two Senate committees and advancing to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee for further consideration.

Sweepstakes Ban

Florida’s Seminole Tribe currently enjoys a monopoly on mobile sports betting, but a bill gaining favor in the Senate to prohibit online sweepstakes casinos could clear the way for iGaming through the Seminoles via an amendment to their compact with the state.

SB 1404, sponsored by former NFL defensive tackle and current state Senator Corey Simon, has taken aim at sweepstakes promotions that use a dual currency in which tokens can be purchased to fund accounts, giving users access to their digital slot machines that ultimately pay out cash prizes for winning spins. Simon and supporters of the bill are hoping to eliminate any form of iGaming competition in the Sunshine State.

Florida Aims to Hit the Brakes

The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government is the second Senate committee to approve SB 1404, and it now advances to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee for more discussion.

Among some of the hallmarks of the bill, SB 1404 would make “Internet gambling” and “Internet sports wagering” a misdemeanor offense in Florida. The bill also addresses wagering with an “other thing of value” besides money, which would put online sweepstakes casinos in the crosshairs, as some of their tokens can be had without purchase.

Additionally, the bill would make “betting on athletic contests with knowledge that the results are prearranged or predetermined” a third-degree felony.

“Illegal gambling in Florida is a growing crisis,” Simon stated. “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.”

Take a Seat

One interesting amendment to Simon’s bill was closing a “loophole” in the ethics requirements for members of the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC). The state’s first Florida Gaming Control executive director, Louis Trombetta, vacated his position in December 2024 to take a job with one of the nation’s leading online gaming platforms, FanDuel.

A separate bill addressing this matter was sponsored by Representative John Snyder earlier this year. Snyder’s HB 1467 would prohibit any future FGCC executive director from working for any sportsbook or fantasy sports platform for two years after leaving the agency.

However, the current amendment to Simon’s bill includes a ban on hiring any commissioner or staff worker coming from a company or organization that is conducting activities under the regulatory control of the FGCC within two years of leaving that position.

It further stipulates that any member or staff worker of the FGCC cannot take a job with those same companies or organizations under the purview of the commission for two years after resigning.  “Any time you have a regulator in a position to make significant decisions on the industry, I think it’s important they sit on the bench for a little bit before they get back into it,” Snyder said in an interview.