Bill Text: FL S0392 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Sports Wagering

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-04-30 - Died in Regulated Industries [S0392 Detail]

Download: Florida-2021-S0392-Introduced.html
       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         547.001Definitions.—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         547.002Sports 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         547.003Authority 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         547.004Sports 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         547.005Sports 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         547.006Prohibitions.—
  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         547.007Unclaimed 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         547.008Penalties.—
  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.

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