Regulators in the Sunshine State are looking into allegedly illegal online sportsbooks and casino sites that continue to cater to Florida clients, especially ones who are too young to be gambling in the first place.
During a meeting of the Florida Gaming Control Commission earlier this week, it was made clear that internet gambling operators doing business in the state without authorization remain a priority target for the regulator.
Investigations of complaints about those businesses are ongoing, commissioners heard. It’s just not easy to crack down on companies based outside the state or country.
“There are certain complexities associated with online investigation, and they make those last a little bit longer,” said Carl Herold, the commission’s director of law enforcement, during the regulator’s meeting on Tuesday. “But I can tell you that we are investigating those and taking very much an active role in trying to at least inhibit that as much as we can.”
Herold’s comments were in response to remarks made by Commission Vice Chair Julie Brown, who said there is “a huge illegal component online … that is raging.”
“An area that is extremely important is that illegal online gaming,” Brown said during Tuesday’s meeting in Tallahassee. “I know we've had discussions on this, but that is an area of high importance, high priority.”
Legal Gaming 101
Brown suggested that the commission's enforcement division should consider a partnership with the Florida Department of Education (DOE). The commissioner said young children are getting addicted to online gambling perhaps without even knowing what’s regulated and legal.
"An area to educate is those youngsters that are getting hooked on it at young teenage years," Brown said. "It's such an area that I'm concerned with that I'd really like us to look at it a little bit further and focus our efforts on partnering with DOE."
Herold said if the regulator had the money for a campaign in the schools, it could have a “significant benefit,” as the commission is getting reports from parents about their child using an online gambling app and running up significant debts.
“And it's gotten to the point that they can no longer hide it, or they've used their parents’ credit card and the bill comes due,” Herold said. “These parents are writing in and wondering what's happening, how to resolve this, and educate their children and educate the folks at school.”
Having Florida to itself gives Seminole-owned Hard Rock Bet a high floor in the sports betting business.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) December 11, 2024
In Week 14 of NFL, HRB was downloaded ~88K times, or ~12% of all downloads in Canada/U.S., according to Citizens JMP Securities. More than Caesars, Fanatics, ESPN BET. pic.twitter.com/H9S50XHdWN
The remarks suggest the commission could take action this year in trying to curb use of offshore sportsbooks and online casino sites in the Sunshine State.
It's also possible Florida regulators could take aim at online sweepstakes casinos and sportsbooks. Those sites have become a priority for the regulated industry and those charged with overseeing the sector.
Furthermore, while Herold didn’t mention any names, the commission could have a variety of targets. The Seminole-owned Hard Rock Bet is the only authorized operator of online Florida sports betting, and there are no legal iGaming options yet.
The commission has also pushed back against other products in the past.
Notably, the regulator sent cease-and-desist letters last year to paid daily fantasy sports operators offering pick'em contests versus the house, rather than other players. Those operators shut down, rejigged, and relaunched their offerings in Florida as peer-to-peer games.
Complaints aplenty
Yet illegal online gambling is one of many concerns for Florida regulators.
The commission must oversee pari-mutuel and brick-and-mortar operations, as well as try to crack down on businesses operating outside the law. For example, in December, the regulator announced it and other law enforcement partners shut down five illegal casinos in the state.
Herold said during Tuesday’s meeting that they received 253 complaints in December through the commission’s website, law enforcement agencies, and other individuals, up from 217 the previous month.
"And, much like last month, the number of complaints far exceeds our ability to service them,” the director said. “We've done some amazing work but, gosh, if we had more people think about how much more amazing work we could do."
