Florida’s top gambling regulator pushes harsher penalties for illegal slot machines

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) - Florida’s top gambling regulator wants tougher penalties for owning illegal slot machines.

Florida Gaming Control Commission head Alana Zimmer said the criminal penalty right now for hosting illegal slot machines is only a misdemeanor, so once an operation is shut down, another one opens right back up.

“It’s much more severe than a misdemeanor,” Zimmer said. “A lot of times these will even get dismissed because they’re misdemeanors. A lot of times, people won’t want to prosecute them because of crimes that they deem more serious.”

Florida politics:

Monday marks the first day of the brand new “Illegal Gambling Awareness Week.”

Zimmer said the Hard Rock Bets app is the only legal online sportsbook in Florida.

“In Florida, the only licensed internet gambling that you can do is through the Seminole Tribe. Hard Rock Bets, that’s the only one that you can do online,” Zimmer said.

If you play an illegal slot machine, there’s no way to verify if the odds are even fair.

“People will be kind of hoodwinked behind what it is,” Zimmer said. “There’s different types that they process payments. There can be identity theft. There’s a lot of things that go along with it.”

While the Hard Rock is the only regulated sportsbook, apps like Kalshi and Polymarket do operate in Florida. Zimmer said the issue of whether they’re legal exchanges or know off sportsbooks is almost certainly headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Florida is not one of the states suing Kalshi, but the Seminole Tribe is, arguing that the app is just a sportsbook by another name.

Plus, the area of gambling regulation is quickly evolving. The Commission recently received an international regulator award after just four years in existence.

“There are certain payouts that are required for those establishments where others can get you hooked, bring you in and then change things about so that you’re not getting any payout or you’re getting a reduced amount,” Zimmer said of unregulated casinos. “But again, there’s no way to protect you if these things happen to you because... we’re not regulating them.”