Legislators in Florida are once more attempting to declare any online gambling and sports betting that isn’t provided only by the Seminole Tribe illegal.
House Bill 591, introduced by Representative Berny Jacques, would make it a third-degree felony to operate, conduct, or promote online gambling, with an exception for gaming activities carried out in accordance with the Seminoles’ state tribal gaming compact.
Internet gambling is defined by Jacques’ legislation as any game that “simulates casino-style gaming, including, but not limited to, slot machines, video poker, and table games… and awards money or other thing of value based on chance, regardless of any application of skill.”
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HB 591 is the latest effort to broadly ban such online gambling, after similar bills were introduced earlier in 2025. Like several other recent Florida bills, the 86-page HB 591 aims to do a lot at once. It also includes measures to ban betting with insider information, limit gambling advertisement and revise criminal penalties for numerous offenses.
Sweeps in the crosshairs?
While the legislation’s text does not mention sweepstakes gaming by name, the overarching definition of illegal gambling could be interpreted to include those kind of dual-currency casino-style products.
That’s certainly the view of the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), a trade group representing operators and suppliers of what the organization is now labeling “Social Plus” games.
In a statement, SGLA Executive Director Jeff Duncan said, “We strongly disagree with the categorization that Social Plus games that use sweepstakes promotions have anything in common with illegal offshore gambling operations.” “HB 591 commendably aims to prevent illicit gambling from occurring in the state of Florida, but it ignores how legitimate promotional sweepstakes function in Florida.”
Courtesy: https://www.covers.com, https://www.casino.org, https://pechanga.net
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