Florida Senate - 2021 SB 392
By Senator Brandes
24-00667-21 2021392__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to sports wagering; creating ch. 547,
3 F.S.; defining terms; authorizing certain persons to
4 place wagers on a sports event under certain
5 circumstances; providing duties and responsibilities
6 of the Department of the Lottery relating to sports
7 pools; requiring the department to adopt rules;
8 authorizing persons to apply to the department for a
9 license to operate a sports pool; providing
10 requirements for such application; requiring licensees
11 to annually renew their licenses; prohibiting sports
12 pools from being offered by anyone other than the
13 department or a licensee; specifying requirements for
14 accepting wagers on sports events; authorizing a
15 licensee to have certain websites and applications
16 under certain circumstances; authorizing the
17 department or licensees to provide certain benefits to
18 induce a person to wager; requiring licensees to
19 perform background checks on all employees and provide
20 certain documentation to the department upon request;
21 prohibiting certain persons from wagering under
22 certain circumstances; providing applicability;
23 requiring the department and licensees to adopt
24 certain procedures to prevent certain persons from
25 wagering; prohibiting the department and licensees
26 from accepting wagers from certain persons; requiring
27 a licensee to promptly notify the department of
28 certain information; providing for the disbursement of
29 unclaimed winnings; providing civil and criminal
30 penalties; requiring that certain penalties be
31 deposited into the department’s Operating Trust Fund;
32 providing a contingent effective date.
33
34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36 Section 1. Chapter 547, Florida Statutes, consisting of
37 sections 547.001, 547.002, 547.003, 547.004, 547.005, 547.006,
38 547.007, and 547.008, is created to read:
39 CHAPTER 547
40 SPORTS WAGERING
41 547.001 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
42 (1) “Collegiate sport or athletic event” means a sport or
43 athletic event offered or sponsored by or played in connection
44 with a public or private institution that offers educational
45 services beyond the secondary level.
46 (2) “Department” means the Department of the Lottery.
47 (3) “Licensee” means an entity that holds a license issued
48 by the department to operate an online sports pool.
49 (4) “Professional sport or athletic event” means an event
50 at which two or more persons participate in sports or athletic
51 events and receive compensation in excess of actual expenses for
52 their participation in such event.
53 (5) “Sports event” means any professional sport or athletic
54 event, any Olympic or international sports competition event,
55 and any collegiate sports or athletic event, or any portion
56 thereof, including, but not limited to, the individual
57 performance statistics of athletes in a sports event or
58 combination of sports events. The term does not include any high
59 school or youth sports event.
60 (6) “Sports pool” means the business of accepting wagers on
61 any sports event by any system or method of wagering other than
62 pari-mutuel, as defined in s. 550.002, including, but not
63 limited to, single-game bets, teaser bets, parlays, over-under,
64 moneyline, pools, proposition bets, exchange wagering, in-game
65 wagering, in-play bets, and straight bets.
66 547.002 Sports wagering authorized.—Notwithstanding any
67 other law, a person who is 21 years of age or older may wager
68 money or any other thing of value on a sports event if the wager
69 is placed with the department or a licensee and the person is
70 physically present in this state.
71 547.003 Authority of department.—The department shall
72 administer this chapter and regulate the operation of sports
73 pools under this chapter and the rules adopted pursuant thereto
74 and shall:
75 (1) Adopt rules to implement this chapter, including, but
76 not limited to, rules:
77 (a) Requiring a licensee to maintain a specified amount of
78 cash reserves;
79 (b) Relating to the acceptance of wagers on a series of
80 sports events;
81 (c) Setting a limit on the maximum wager that a person may
82 place on a single sports event;
83 (d) Regulating the method of accounting licensees must use
84 and what records must be kept;
85 (e) Regulating the use of credit and checks by persons
86 wagering;
87 (f) Requiring protections for persons wagering;
88 (g) Requiring licensees to provide patrons with warnings
89 about gambling addiction and information on where to get help;
90 and
91 (h) Regulating the locations and use of self-service
92 betting kiosks.
93 (2) Conduct investigations and monitor the operation of
94 sports pools.
95 (3) Review the books, accounts, and records of any current
96 or former licensee.
97 (4) Suspend or revoke any license issued under this
98 chapter, after a hearing, for any violation of this chapter or
99 the administrative rules adopted pursuant thereto.
100 (5) Take testimony, issue summons and subpoenas for any
101 witness, and issue subpoenas duces tecum in connection with any
102 matter within its jurisdiction.
103 547.004 Sports wagering licenses.—
104 (1) A person may apply to the department for a license to
105 operate a sports pool.
106 (2) All applications submitted pursuant to this section
107 must be on a form prescribed by the department and adopted by
108 rule.
109 (3) A licensee must annually renew a license issued under
110 this section.
111 547.005 Sports pools.—
112 (1) A sports pool may not be offered by any person other
113 than the department or a licensee.
114 (2) A licensee may accept wagers only from persons who are
115 21 years of age or older and who are wagering through a website
116 or application offered under subsection (3), and the department
117 may accept wagers only from persons who are 21 years of age or
118 older and who are wagering at a self-service kiosk operated by
119 the department.
120 (3)(a) A licensee may have individually branded websites
121 for the purposes of offering a sports pool, each of which may
122 have an accompanying mobile application bearing the same brand
123 as the website.
124 (b) Until a license is received from the department, an
125 applicant may not make a website or application available to the
126 public and may not accept wagers unless the wagers are strictly
127 for testing purposes and nothing of value is wagered or
128 exchanged.
129 (4) The department or licensees may provide promotional
130 credits, incentives, bonuses, complimentaries, or similar
131 benefits designed to induce a person to wager.
132 (5) A licensee must perform background checks on all of its
133 employees and must provide any documentation relating to the
134 background checks and a list identifying all of the licensee’s
135 employees to the department upon request.
136 547.006 Prohibitions.—
137 (1)(a) The following persons are prohibited from wagering
138 on a sports event that is overseen by the person’s sports
139 governing body based on publicly available information:
140 1. An athlete, a coach, a referee, or a director of a
141 sports governing body or any of such body’s member teams.
142 2. A person who is a direct or indirect legal or beneficial
143 owner of 10 percent or greater of a sports governing body or any
144 of such body’s member teams.
145 3. A sports governing body or any of such body’s member
146 teams.
147 4. A person who holds a position of authority or influence
148 sufficient to exert influence over the participants in a sports
149 event, including, but not limited to, a coach, manager, handler,
150 or trainer.
151 5. A person with access to exclusive information on any
152 sports event overseen by his or her sports governing body.
153 6. A person identified by any lists of prohibited persons
154 provided to the department by a sports governing body. The
155 department must provide licensees with any such list upon
156 receipt.
157 (b) This subsection does not apply to any person who is a
158 direct or indirect owner of a sports governing body member team
159 and the shares of such person are registered pursuant to s. 12
160 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the value of the
161 ownership of such team represents less than 1 percent of the
162 person’s total enterprise value.
163 (2) The department and licensees shall adopt procedures to
164 prevent persons who are prohibited from wagering on sports
165 events under subsection (1) from wagering on sports events.
166 Additionally, the department and licensees may not accept wagers
167 from any person whose identity is known to the department or
168 licensee and who:
169 (a) Is the director, officer, owner, or employee of the
170 department or licensee or any relative of such person living in
171 the same household;
172 (b) Has access to nonpublic confidential information held
173 by the department or licensee; or
174 (c) Is an agent or proxy for another person.
175 (3) A licensee must promptly notify the department of any
176 of the following:
177 (a) A criminal or disciplinary proceeding commenced against
178 the licensee or any of its employees in connection with the
179 operations of a sports pool.
180 (b) Abnormal betting activity or patterns that may indicate
181 a concern about the integrity of a sports event.
182 (c) Conduct that has the potential to corrupt a betting
183 outcome of a sports event for purposes of financial gain,
184 including, but not limited to, match fixing.
185 (d) Suspicious or illegal wagering activities, including,
186 but not limited to, the use of funds derived from illegal
187 activity, wagers to conceal or launder funds derived from
188 illegal activity, agents to place wagers, or false
189 identification.
190 547.007 Unclaimed winnings.—If a person does not claim a
191 winning wager within 1 year after the wager is graded, the
192 obligation of the department or the licensee to pay the winnings
193 expires and the funds must be distributed as follows:
194 (1) For wagers placed at a self-service kiosk operated by
195 the department, 100 percent to the Operating Trust Fund created
196 under s. 24.120.
197 (2) For wagers placed through a website or application
198 offered by a licensee, 50 percent retained by the licensee and
199 the remaining 50 percent to the Operating Trust Fund.
200 547.008 Penalties.—
201 (1) Except as otherwise provided by law and in addition to
202 any other penalty, any person who knowingly makes or causes to
203 be made, or aids, assists, or procures another to make, a false
204 statement in any report, disclosure, or application, or any
205 other document required under this chapter or any rule adopted
206 under this chapter, is subject to an administrative fine or
207 civil penalty of up to $10,000.
208 (2) Any person who violates s. 547.006 is subject to an
209 administrative fine or civil penalty of up to $1,000 per
210 violation.
211 (3) Any person who operates a sports pool without a valid
212 license issued pursuant to this chapter commits a felony of the
213 third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083,
214 or s. 775.084.
215 (4) Any licensee who violates any provision of this chapter
216 commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
217 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Any licensee who commits a
218 second or subsequent violation of the same paragraph or
219 subsection within a period of 3 years from the date of a prior
220 conviction for a violation of such paragraph or subsection
221 commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in
222 s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
223 (5) Any person who knowingly excludes, or takes any action
224 in an attempt to exclude, anything of value from the deposit,
225 counting, collection, or computation of revenues from sports
226 wagering activity, or any person who by trick, sleight-of-hand
227 performance, a fraud or fraudulent scheme, or device wins or
228 attempts to win, for himself or herself or for another, money or
229 property or a combination thereof or reduces or attempts to
230 reduce a losing wager in connection with sports wagering commits
231 a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s.
232 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
233 (6) Theft of any sports wagering proceeds belonging to a
234 licensee by an employee of the licensee or by an employee of a
235 person, firm, or entity that has contracted to provide services
236 to the licensee constitutes a felony of the third degree,
237 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
238 (7) All penalties imposed and collected under this section
239 must be deposited into the department’s Operating Trust Fund.
240 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2021, if
241 SB ___ and SB ___ or similar legislation are adopted in the same
242 legislative session or an extension thereof and become law.