Florida Republican state senator Clay Yarborough has filed a wide-ranging package of gambling reforms that would roll back diversity-related provisions and significantly tighten penalties for illegal gaming activity across the state.
The proposal, filed as SB 1164, seeks to overhaul gambling regulation and enforcement in Florida, covering cardrooms, slot machines, internet gambling, wagering on fixed contests, and the advertising of illegal gambling. The measure would take effect in October if enacted.
Under the bill, statutory language requiring the Florida Gaming Control Commission to appoint members reflecting racial, ethnic, and gender diversity would be removed. The proposal would also eliminate consideration of minority vendors and minority residents in the distribution of slot machine licences and strike existing reporting requirements related to the hiring of minority groups.
The legislation proposes tougher criminal penalties for betting on contests with predetermined outcomes, classifying such activity as a third-degree felony. Agents or employees of gambling houses would also face penalties, escalating from a first-degree misdemeanor for an initial offence to felony charges for repeat violations. Landlords who rent properties used as gambling houses would be subject to felony charges.
SB 1164 also targets internet gambling conducted outside Florida’s gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which currently permits sports betting through Hard Rock Bet. Gambling outside the compact would trigger misdemeanor penalties, while operators or promoters of illegal online gambling would face felony charges.
Game-fixing in cardrooms would be classified as a third-degree felony, with the same penalty applying to the operation of internet games involving dice, cards, numbers, or other gambling devices. The bill further proposes harsher sanctions for illegal slot machine activity, including first-degree felony penalties for bringing more than 15 machines or parts into the state. The maximum proposed fine is $500,000 for importing 50 machines or components.
Additional provisions would make transporting people into Florida to gamble illegally a felony offence, with escalating penalties based on the number and age of those transported. Advertising illegal gambling would also be criminalised, with first offences treated as first-degree misdemeanors and subsequent violations classified as third-degree felonies.
The proposal would explicitly return enforcement authority over illegal gambling to the state, removing local discretion if the bill becomes law.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/01/08/117049-florida-senator-files-sweeping-gambling-reform-bill-targeting-dei-illegal-gaming
