A number of states in the US went on to legalise sports betting in 2019 and it appears that 2020 could also be a year when more states join the sports betting bandwagon. Florida lawmakers filed a new set of bills to legalise sports betting and if things go well, sports betting could be legalised next year.
Three bills, which are SB 968, SB 970, and SB 972, have been filed and they all allow for state-wide mobile sports betting. The Florida Lottery will be in charge of sports betting operations.
The main bill that would legalise everything is SB 968 but the language is not very clear.
It does not mention what sports will be okay to wager on nor does it have any provisions for the local Seminole tribe to get a piece of the pie. That is going to make things difficult since the Seminole tribe is a major force in the Florida gambling market. It was the Seminole who blocked the 2018 push for legal sports betting and not considering them in the new bill means the bill will face opposition yet again.
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What the current bills do clear up is how the operations will run. The suggestion is for most of the betting to be done through mobile apps or at kiosks run by the Florida Lottery, with a potential chance of an outside partner working with the Lottery to develop both the app and operations.
The additional two bills also set fees and taxes for the operation. SB 970 requires that sports betting operators will need to pay $100,000 in application and annual renewal fees. SB 972 sets the taxes for sports betting to be at 15 percent, which could benefit Florida greatly.
SB 968 also allows for the Lottery administration to set a maximum limit on the number of wagers a bettor can make, as well as how much they can spend. This is another point that critics say will see the bill shot down since other states don’t have this limit.
For example, when Washington D.C. pushed for sports betting legalisation, the state had something similar but ended up changing it to allow operators to decide on the limit.
The bill also prohibits a rather lengthy list of individuals from placing sports bets. This includes anyone that can influence the results of a sports event or someone who has inside information on the teams participating.
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