- Florida’s HB147 has died in committee
- The wide-ranging playing invoice would have elevated penalties for unlawful playing and bribing skilled athletes, barred gaming regulators from employment within the gaming trade, and decoupled thoroughbred tracks from stay racing
- The invoice was seen as probably dangerous to Florida’s racing trade
The common legislative session is over in Florida and with it are the hopes of passing HB1467, probably the most complete proposal associated to playing this 12 months.
The Triple Cherry Arcade in Fort Myers is an unlawful playing outfit disguised as an arcade. With operators of such unlawful playing companies dealing with solely misdemeanor penalties, some state lawmakers say it’s time to extend such playing convictions to felonies. (Picture: Google Maps)
The invoice, launched in February by Florida Reps. John Snyder (R-Palm Seaside) and Adam Anderson (R-Pinellas), had many targets, together with:
- To extend the penalties for each working unlawful playing enterprises, and bribing an athlete to throw a recreation, from misdemeanors to third-degree felonies on the primary offense
- To bar Florida Gaming Management Fee staff from working within the state gaming trade for 2 years after leaving their jobs
- To formally legalize and regulate day by day fantasy sports activities
- To permit Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park (the state’s two operational thoroughbred tracks) to “decouple” from stay racing, now not requiring them to supply a quota of races to function different playing actions similar to slots and poker
The invoice handed the state Home of representatives and was referred to the Senate Guidelines Committee on April 28. But it surely by no means obtained a Senate listening to within the ultimate week of this 12 months’s session.
Its failure is seen as a win by the thoroughbred trade, which famous that decoupling proved to be the ultimate nail within the coffin of harness racing within the state.
Florida’s legislative session ended final Friday. And although lawmakers voted to reconvene on Might 12 and prolong the common session till June 6 to finish a still-unapproved finances, the agenda is proscribed to only a handful of things, and playing is just not one in all them.
