Florida Senate - 2021 SB 392 By Senator Brandes 24-00667-21 2021392__ Page 1 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1

An act relating to sports wagering; creating ch. 547, 2 F.S.; defining terms; authorizing certain persons to 3 place wagers on a sports event under certain 4 circumstances; providing duties and responsibilities 5 of the Department of the Lottery relating to sports 6 pools; requiring the department to adopt rules; 7 authorizing persons to apply to the department for a 8 license to operate a sports pool; providing 9 requirements for such application; requiring licensees 10 to annually renew their licenses; prohibiting sports 11 pools from being offered by anyone other than the 12 department or a licensee; specifying requirements for 13 accepting wagers on sports events; authorizing a 14 licensee to have certain websites and applications 15 under certain circumstances; authorizing the 16 department or licensees to provide certain benefits to 17 induce a person to wager; requiring licensees to 18 perform background checks on all employees and provide 19 certain documentation to the department upon request; 20 prohibiting certain persons from wagering under 21 certain circumstances; providing applicability; 22 requiring the department and licensees to adopt 23 certain procedures to prevent certain persons from 24 wagering; prohibiting the department and licensees 25 from accepting wagers from certain persons; requiring 26 a licensee to promptly notify the department of 27 certain information; providing for the disbursement of 28 unclaimed winnings; providing civil and criminal 29

Florida Senate - 2021 SB 392 24-00667-21 2021392__ Page 2 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. penalties; requiring that certain penalties be 30 deposited into the department’s Operating Trust Fund; 31 providing a contingent effective date. 32 33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34 35

Section 1.

Chapter 547, Florida Statutes, consisting of 36 sections 547.001, 547.002, 547.003, 547.004, 547.005, 547.006, 37 547.007, and 547.008, is created to read: 38

CHAPTER 547 39 SPORTS WAGERING 40 547.001

Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term: 41 (1) “Collegiate sport or athletic event” means a sport or 42 athletic event offered or sponsored by or played in connection 43 with a public or private institution that offers educational 44 services beyond the secondary level. 45 (2) “Department” means the Department of the Lottery. 46 (3) “Licensee” means an entity that holds a license issued 47 by the department to operate an online sports pool. 48 (4) “Professional sport or athletic event” means an event 49 at which two or more persons participate in sports or athletic 50 events and receive compensation in excess of actual expenses for 51 their participation in such event. 52 (5) “Sports event” means any professional sport or athletic 53 event, any Olympic or international sports competition event, 54 and any collegiate sports or athletic event, or any portion 55 thereof, including, but not limited to, the individual 56 performance statistics of athletes in a sports event or 57 combination of sports events.

The term does not include any high 58

Florida Senate - 2021 SB 392 24-00667-21 2021392__ Page 3 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. school or youth sports event. 59 (6) “Sports pool” means the business of accepting wagers on 60 any sports event by any system or method of wagering other than 61 pari-mutuel, as defined in s. 550.002, including, but not 62 limited to, single-game bets, teaser bets, parlays, over-under, 63 moneyline, pools, proposition bets, exchange wagering, in-game 64 wagering, in-play bets, and straight bets. 65 547.002 Sports wagering authorized.—Notwithstanding any 66 other law, a person who is 21 years of age or older may wager 67 money or any other thing of value on a sports event if the wager 68 is placed with the department or a licensee and the person is 69 physically present in this state. 70 547.003 Authority of department.—The department shall 71 administer this

chapter and regulate the operation of sports 72 pools under this

chapter and the rules adopted pursuant thereto 73 and shall: 74

(1) Adopt rules to implement this chapter, including, but 75 not limited to, rules: 76 (

a) Requiring a licensee to maintain a specified amount of 77 cash reserves; 78 (

b) Relating to the acceptance of wagers on a series of 79 sports events; 80 (

c) Setting a limit on the maximum wager that a person may 81 place on a single sports event; 82 (

d) Regulating the method of accounting licensees must use 83 and what records must be kept; 84 (

e) Regulating the use of credit and checks by persons 85 wagering; 86 (

f) Requiring protections for persons wagering; 87

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g) Requiring licensees to provide patrons with warnings 88 about gambling addiction and information on where to get help; 89 and 90 (

h) Regulating the locations and use of self-service 91 betting kiosks. 92

(2) Conduct investigations and monitor the operation of 93 sports pools. 94

(3) Review the books, accounts, and records of any current 95 or former licensee. 96

(4) Suspend or revoke any license issued under this 97 chapter, after a hearing, for any violation of this

chapter or 98 the administrative rules adopted pursuant thereto. 99

(5) Take testimony, issue summons and subpoenas for any 100 witness, and issue subpoenas duces tecum in connection with any 101 matter within its jurisdiction. 102 547.004 Sports wagering licenses.— 103

(1) A person may apply to the department for a license to 104 operate a sports pool. 105

(2) All applications submitted pursuant to this

section 106 must be on a form prescribed by the department and adopted by 107 rule. 108

(3) A licensee must annually renew a license issued under 109 this section. 110 547.005 Sports pools.— 111

(1) A sports pool may not be offered by any person other 112 than the department or a licensee. 113

(2) A licensee may accept wagers only from persons who are 114 21 years of age or older and who are wagering through a website 115 or application offered under subsection (3), and the department 116

Florida Senate - 2021 SB 392 24-00667-21 2021392__ Page 5 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. may accept wagers only from persons who are 21 years of age or 117 older and who are wagering at a self-service kiosk operated by 118 the department. 119 (3)(

a) A licensee may have individually branded websites 120 for the purposes of offering a sports pool, each of which may 121 have an accompanying mobile application bearing the same brand 122 as the website. 123 (

b) Until a license is received from the department, an 124 applicant may not make a website or application available to the 125 public and may not accept wagers unless the wagers are strictly 126 for testing purposes and nothing of value is wagered or 127 exchanged. 128

(4) The department or licensees may provide promotional 129 credits, incentives, bonuses, complimentaries, or similar 130 benefits designed to induce a person to wager. 131

(5) A licensee must perform background checks on all of its 132 employees and must provide any documentation relating to the 133 background checks and a list identifying all of the licensee’s 134 employees to the department upon request. 135 547.006 Prohibitions.— 136 (1)(

a) The following persons are prohibited from wagering 137 on a sports event that is overseen by the person’s sports 138 governing body based on publicly available information: 139 1. An athlete, a coach, a referee, or a director of a 140 sports governing body or any of such body’s member teams. 141 2. A person who is a direct or indirect legal or beneficial 142 owner of 10 percent or greater of a sports governing body or any 143 of such body’s member teams. 144 3. A sports governing body or any of such body’s member 145

Florida Senate - 2021 SB 392 24-00667-21 2021392__ Page 6 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. teams. 146 4. A person who holds a position of authority or influence 147 sufficient to exert influence over the participants in a sports 148 event, including, but not limited to, a coach, manager, handler, 149 or trainer. 150 5. A person with access to exclusive information on any 151 sports event overseen by his or her sports governing body. 152 6. A person identified by any lists of prohibited persons 153 provided to the department by a sports governing body. The 154 department must provide licensees with any such list upon 155 receipt. 156 (

b) This subsection does not apply to any person who is a 157 direct or indirect owner of a sports governing body member team 158 and the shares of such person are registered pursuant to s. 12 159 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the value of the 160 ownership of such team represents less than 1 percent of the 161 person’s total enterprise value. 162

(2) The department and licensees shall adopt procedures to 163 prevent persons who are prohibited from wagering on sports 164 events under subsection (1) from wagering on sports events. 165 Additionally, the department and licensees may not accept wagers 166 from any person whose identity is known to the department or 167 licensee and who: 168 (

a) Is the director, officer, owner, or employee of the 169 department or licensee or any relative of such person living in 170 the same household; 171 (

b) Has access to nonpublic confidential information held 172 by the department or licensee; or 173 (

c) Is an agent or proxy for another person. 174

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(3) A licensee must promptly notify the department of any 175 of the following: 176 (

a) A criminal or disciplinary proceeding commenced against 177 the licensee or any of its employees in connection with the 178 operations of a sports pool. 179 (

b) Abnormal betting activity or patterns that may indicate 180 a concern about the integrity of a sports event. 181 (

c) Conduct that has the potential to corrupt a betting 182 outcome of a sports event for purposes of financial gain, 183 including, but not limited to, match fixing. 184 (

d) Suspicious or illegal wagering activities, including, 185 but not limited to, the use of funds derived from illegal 186 activity, wagers to conceal or launder funds derived from 187 illegal activity, agents to place wagers, or false 188 identification. 189 547.007 Unclaimed winnings.—If a person does not claim a 190 winning wager within 1 year after the wager is graded, the 191 obligation of the department or the licensee to pay the winnings 192 expires and the funds must be distributed as follows: 193

(1) For wagers placed at a self-service kiosk operated by 194 the department, 100 percent to the Operating Trust Fund created 195 under s. 24.120. 196

(2) For wagers placed through a website or application 197 offered by a licensee, 50 percent retained by the licensee and 198 the remaining 50 percent to the Operating Trust Fund. 199 547.008 Penalties.— 200

(1) Except as otherwise provided by law and in addition to 201 any other penalty, any person who knowingly makes or causes to 202 be made, or aids, assists, or procures another to make, a false 203

Florida Senate - 2021 SB 392 24-00667-21 2021392__ Page 8 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. statement in any report, disclosure, or application, or any 204 other document required under this

chapter or any rule adopted 205 under this chapter, is subject to an administrative fine or 206 civil penalty of up to $10,000. 207

(2) Any person who violates s. 547.006 is subject to an 208 administrative fine or civil penalty of up to $1,000 per 209 violation. 210

(3) Any person who operates a sports pool without a valid 211 license issued pursuant to this

chapter commits a felony of the 212 third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, 213 or s. 775.084. 214

(4) Any licensee who violates any provision of this

chapter 215 commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 216 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Any licensee who commits a 217 second or subsequent violation of the same paragraph or 218 subsection within a period of 3 years from the date of a prior 219 conviction for a violation of such paragraph or subsection 220 commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in 221 s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 222

(5) Any person who knowingly excludes, or takes any action 223 in an attempt to exclude, anything of value from the deposit, 224 counting, collection, or computation of revenues from sports 225 wagering activity, or any person who by trick, sleight-of-hand 226 performance, a fraud or fraudulent scheme, or device wins or 227 attempts to win, for himself or herself or for another, money or 228 property or a combination thereof or reduces or attempts to 229 reduce a losing wager in connection with sports wagering commits 230 a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 231 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 232

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(6) Theft of any sports wagering proceeds belonging to a 233 licensee by an employee of the licensee or by an employee of a 234 person, firm, or entity that has contracted to provide services 235 to the licensee constitutes a felony of the third degree, 236 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 237

(7) All penalties imposed and collected under this

section 238 must be deposited into the department’s Operating Trust Fund. 239

Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2021, if 240 SB ___ and SB ___ or similar legislation are adopted in the same 241 legislative session or an extension thereof and become law. 242