Florida state Senator Travis Hutson, chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, recently introduced SB 840, which addresses daily fantasy sports contests, decoupling greyhound and horse racing, slot machine taxes and designated player games at parimutuel card rooms. “I am excited to take the lead on gaming for the 2018 session and grateful for the opportunity to build on the efforts of previous leaders on this issue, in particular Senator Bill Galvano. Thanks to the solid foundation left by him and others, I am able to offer a gaming bill more narrow in scope than in the past but no less thorough in detail.”
The bill states daily fantasy sports contests are based on player rather than team performance. Also, individual participants would be exempt from regulation as long as they are not “commissioners” of more than 10 leagues.
The bill also would allow racetrack operators to decouple live racing from other forms of gambling, such as lucrative card rooms. Under Hutson’s proposal, if a track has held a “full schedule of live racing” for 10 consecutive years since fiscal 1996-1997, it can specify in its application for an operating license that it wants to stop offering racing.
In addition, the legislation would lower slot-machine taxes from 35 percent of revenue to 25 percent by July 2020. The bill also would allow
controversial “designated player games” at parimutuel card rooms, as long as they are not more than half of the card room’s offerings.
Hutson stated, “I am confident this bill offers a focused starting point on a limited number of issues from which attainable reform can be enacted and look forward to working with the House of Representatives, the governor, stakeholders and the citizens of Florida to achieve that goal.”
The Seminole Tribe of Florida, which holds exclusive rights to offer blackjack at its casinos, has stated its opposition to designated player games and others it considers similar to blackjack. The issue led to a federal lawsuit that was settled earlier this year. Asked for a comment on Hutson’s proposal, Seminole tribal spokesman Gary Bitner replied, “Thanks for asking, but the tribe doesn’t comment on bills that may or may not become law.”
