Florida SB 1580: Minority Businesses

Bill Text

1580 
Illegal Gaming 
2026-03-04T13:45:52Z 
Repealing a provision relating to penalties and violations related to illegal gambling; authorizing a person who is ineligible for employment with the commission to submit a waiver request to the commission asking to be considered eligible for employment if the person possesses certain expertise or experience; revising the standards of conduct for current and former commissioners and employees of the commission; authorizing a slot machine licensee to apply to the commission to change the location of its designated slot machine gaming area under certain circumstances; providing criminal penalties for persons who stake, bet, or wager any money or other thing of value upon the result of certain games, contests, matches, races, or sports if such persons have knowledge that the outcome of the games, contests, matches, races, or sports is prearranged or predetermined; revising the criminal penalties for persons who rent or lease a house for gambling purposes, etc. 
Committee Substitute 2 
2026 
S 
GB 
General Bill 
c2 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for CS for SB 1580 

 By the Committees on Rules; and Regulated Industries; and 
 Senator Martin 

 595-03402-26 20261580c2 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to illegal gaming; repealing s. 
 3 849.23, F.S., relating to penalties and violations 
 4 related to illegal gambling; amending s. 16.71, F.S.; 
 5 requiring that the Florida Gaming Control Commission, 
 6 rather than the chair of the commission, appoint an 
 7 inspector general; authorizing the commission to 
 8 delegate any of the duties and powers of an agency 
 9 head to a commissioner, with an exception; amending s. 
 10 16.712, F.S.; revising the information to be included 
 11 in the commission’s annual report to the Governor and 
 12 the Legislature; amending s. 16.713, F.S.; authorizing 
 13 a person who is ineligible for employment with the 
 14 commission to submit a waiver request to the 
 15 commission asking to be considered eligible for 
 16 employment if the person possesses certain expertise 
 17 or experience; requiring the commission to consider 
 18 such requests on a case-by-case basis and to approve 
 19 or deny such requests; providing that such person is 
 20 eligible for employment with the commission if the 
 21 waiver request is approved by the commission; 
 22 providing applicability; providing the standard of 
 23 review for such waiver requests; authorizing the 
 24 commission to adopt rules; amending s. 16.715, F.S.; 
 25 revising the standards of conduct for current and 
 26 former commissioners and employees of the commission; 
 27 revising the persons who may not hold permits or 
 28 licenses relating to gaming within a certain 
 29 timeframe; prohibiting such persons from accepting 
 30 employment or compensation from or engaging in any 
 31 business activity with certain persons or entities for 
 32 a specified timeframe; authorizing certain employees 
 33 to request that the commission waive certain 
 34 postemployment restrictions for a certain purpose; 
 35 requiring the commission to consider and approve or 
 36 deny each waiver request on a case-by-case basis; 
 37 authorizing the commission to adopt rules; amending s. 
 38 20.055, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made 
 39 by the act; amending s. 546.10, F.S.; authorizing 
 40 certain veterans’ service organizations to petition 
 41 the commission for a declaratory statement to 
 42 determine whether a game or machine is authorized by 
 43 law before such organizations purchase or install such 
 44 game or machine; prohibiting the purchase or 
 45 installation of a game or machine awaiting such 
 46 declaratory statement until the declaratory statement 
 47 has been issued; authorizing veterans’ service 
 48 organizations that have a game or machine already 
 49 installed on their premises to petition the commission 
 50 for a declaratory statement to determine whether a 
 51 game or machine is authorized by law; prohibiting such 
 52 veterans’ service organizations from petitioning the 
 53 commission if the game, machine, premises, or 
 54 organization is the subject of an ongoing criminal 
 55 investigation; requiring the commission to issue the 
 56 declaratory statement or deny the petition for a 
 57 declaratory statement within a specified timeframe; 
 58 prohibiting the commission from denying a veterans’ 
 59 service organization’s petition that is validly 
 60 requested; providing that a petition is deemed 
 61 complete if the petition includes certain information; 
 62 providing that the declaratory statement is valid only 
 63 for the game or machine for which it was requested; 
 64 providing that a declaratory statement is invalid if 
 65 the specifications of the game or machine have 
 66 changed; providing that the declaratory statement is 
 67 binding on the commission and may be introduced in 
 68 subsequent proceedings as evidence of a good fait