Bill Text: FL S0222 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Game Promotions
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S0222 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S0222-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2011 SB 222
By Senator Fasano
11-00156-11 2011222__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to game promotions; amending s.
3 849.094, F.S.; requiring operators of certain
4 electronic-based game promotions to comply with
5 specified requirements governing game promotions;
6 providing an effective date.
7
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10 Section 1. Section 849.094, Florida Statutes, is amended to
11 read:
12 849.094 Game promotion in connection with sale of consumer
13 products or services.—
14 (1) As used in this section, the term:
15 (a) “Game promotion” means, but is not limited to, a
16 contest, game of chance, or gift enterprise, conducted within or
17 throughout the state and other states in connection with the
18 sale of consumer products or services, and in which the elements
19 of chance and prize are present. However, “game promotion” shall
20 not be construed to apply to bingo games conducted pursuant to
21 s. 849.0931.
22 (b) “Operator” means any person, firm, corporation, or
23 association or agent or employee thereof who promotes, operates,
24 or conducts a game promotion, except any charitable nonprofit
25 organization.
26 (2) It is unlawful for any operator:
27 (a) To design, engage in, promote, or conduct such a game
28 promotion, in connection with the promotion or sale of consumer
29 products or services, wherein the winner may be predetermined or
30 the game may be manipulated or rigged so as to:
31 1. Allocate a winning game or any portion thereof to
32 certain lessees, agents, or franchises; or
33 2. Allocate a winning game or part thereof to a particular
34 period of the game promotion or to a particular geographic area;
35 (b) Arbitrarily to remove, disqualify, disallow, or reject
36 any entry;
37 (c) To fail to award prizes offered;
38 (d) To print, publish, or circulate literature or
39 advertising material used in connection with such game
40 promotions which is false, deceptive, or misleading; or
41 (e) To require an entry fee, payment, or proof of purchase
42 as a condition of entering a game promotion.
43 (3) The operator of a game promotion in which the total
44 announced value of the prizes offered is greater than $5,000
45 shall file with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
46 Services a copy of the rules and regulations of the game
47 promotion and a list of all prizes and prize categories offered
48 at least 7 days before the commencement of the game promotion.
49 Such rules and regulations may not thereafter be changed,
50 modified, or altered. The operator of a game promotion shall
51 conspicuously post the rules and regulations of such game
52 promotion in each and every retail outlet or place where such
53 game promotion may be played or participated in by the public
54 and shall also publish the rules and regulations in all
55 advertising copy used in connection therewith. However, such
56 advertising copy need only include the material terms of the
57 rules and regulations if the advertising copy includes a website
58 address, a toll-free telephone number, or a mailing address
59 where the full rules and regulations may be viewed, heard, or
60 obtained for the full duration of the game promotion. Such
61 disclosures must be legible. Radio and television announcements
62 may indicate that the rules and regulations are available at
63 retail outlets or from the operator of the promotion. A
64 nonrefundable filing fee of $100 shall accompany each filing and
65 shall be used to pay the costs incurred in administering and
66 enforcing the provisions of this section.
67 (4)(a) Every operator of such a game promotion in which the
68 total announced value of the prizes offered is greater than
69 $5,000 shall establish a trust account, in a national or state
70 chartered financial institution, with a balance sufficient to
71 pay or purchase the total value of all prizes offered. On a form
72 supplied by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,
73 an official of the financial institution holding the trust
74 account shall set forth the dollar amount of the trust account,
75 the identity of the entity or individual establishing the trust
76 account, and the name of the game promotion for which the trust
77 account has been established. Such form shall be filed with the
78 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at least 7 days
79 in advance of the commencement of the game promotion. In lieu of
80 establishing such trust account, the operator may obtain a
81 surety bond in an amount equivalent to the total value of all
82 prizes offered; and such bond shall be filed with the Department
83 of Agriculture and Consumer Services at least 7 days in advance
84 of the commencement of the game promotion.
85 1. The moneys held in the trust account may be withdrawn in
86 order to pay the prizes offered only upon certification to the
87 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services of the name of
88 the winner or winners and the amount of the prize or prizes and
89 the value thereof.
90 2. If the operator of a game promotion has obtained a
91 surety bond in lieu of establishing a trust account, the amount
92 of the surety bond shall equal at all times the total amount of
93 the prizes offered.
94 (b) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may
95 waive the provisions of this subsection for any operator who has
96 conducted game promotions in the state for not less than 5
97 consecutive years and who has not had any civil, criminal, or
98 administrative action instituted against him or her by the state
99 or an agency of the state for violation of this section within
100 that 5-year period. Such waiver may be revoked upon the
101 commission of a violation of this section by such operator, as
102 determined by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
103 Services.
104 (5) Every operator of a game promotion in which the total
105 announced value of the prizes offered is greater than $5,000
106 shall provide the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
107 Services with a certified list of the names and addresses of all
108 persons, whether from this state or from another state, who have
109 won prizes which have a value of more than $25, the value of
110 such prizes, and the dates when the prizes were won within 60
111 days after such winners have been finally determined. The
112 operator shall provide a copy of the list of winners, without
113 charge, to any person who requests it. In lieu of the foregoing,
114 the operator of a game promotion may, at his or her option,
115 publish the same information about the winners in a Florida
116 newspaper of general circulation within 60 days after such
117 winners have been determined and shall provide to the Department
118 of Agriculture and Consumer Services a certified copy of the
119 publication containing the information about the winners. The
120 operator of a game promotion is not required to notify a winner
121 by mail or by telephone when the winner is already in possession
122 of a game card from which the winner can determine that he or
123 she has won a designated prize. All winning entries shall be
124 held by the operator for a period of 90 days after the close or
125 completion of the game.
126 (6) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
127 shall keep the certified list of winners for a period of at
128 least 6 months after receipt of the certified list. The
129 department thereafter may dispose of all records and lists.
130 (7) No operator shall force, directly or indirectly, a
131 lessee, agent, or franchise dealer to purchase or participate in
132 any game promotion. For the purpose of this section, coercion or
133 force shall be presumed in these circumstances in which a course
134 of business extending over a period of 1 year or longer is
135 materially changed coincident with a failure or refusal of a
136 lessee, agent, or franchise dealer to participate in such game
137 promotions. Such force or coercion shall further be presumed
138 when an operator advertises generally that game promotions are
139 available at its lessee dealers or agent dealers.
140 (8)(a) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
141 shall have the power to promulgate such rules and regulations
142 respecting the operation of game promotions as it may deem
143 advisable.
144 (b) Whenever the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
145 Services or the Department of Legal Affairs has reason to
146 believe that a game promotion is being operated in violation of
147 this section, it may bring an action in the circuit court of any
148 judicial circuit in which the game promotion is being operated
149 in the name and on behalf of the people of the state against any
150 operator thereof to enjoin the continued operation of such game
151 promotion anywhere within the state.
152 (9)(a) Any person, firm, or corporation, or association or
153 agent or employee thereof, who engages in any acts or practices
154 stated in this section to be unlawful, or who violates any of
155 the rules and regulations made pursuant to this section, is
156 guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as
157 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
158 (b) Any person, firm, corporation, association, agent, or
159 employee who violates any provision of this section or any of
160 the rules and regulations made pursuant to this section shall be
161 liable for a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each such
162 violation, which shall accrue to the state and may be recovered
163 in a civil action brought by the Department of Agriculture and
164 Consumer Services or the Department of Legal Affairs.
165 (10) This section does not apply to actions or transactions
166 regulated by the Department of Business and Professional
167 Regulation or to the activities of nonprofit organizations or to
168 any other organization engaged in any enterprise other than the
169 sale of consumer products or services. Subsections (3), (4),
170 (5), (6), and (7) and paragraph (8)(a) and any of the rules made
171 pursuant thereto do not apply to television or radio
172 broadcasting companies licensed by the Federal Communications
173 Commission.
174 (11) Each operator of an electronic-based game promotion
175 that offers prizes having an announced value greater than $1
176 must comply with subsections (3), (4), (5), and (7) and with
177 rules adopted by the department under paragraph (8)(a).
178 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
