The Florida House of Representatives Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee will on Tuesday hold a hearing for HB 189, a sweeping gambling bill that would make the offering or acceptance of a bribe for the purposes of sports betting a felony. The bill would also codify legal daily fantasy sports (DFS).
The bill, filed by Rep. Dana Trabulsy, a Fort Pierce Republican, would impact multiple aspects of gambling in Florida, including pari-mutuels, illegal slot machines, sports betting, and deportment rules for the Florida Gaming Control Commission.
Key among the provisions for sports betting:
Anyone who “conspires to give, promise or offer to anyone who participates or expects to participate in any professional or amateur game” … “any bribe, money, goods, present, reward or any valuable thing whatsoever, or any promise … with intent to influence him or her or them to lose or cause to be lost any game” is considered guilty of a third-degree felony.
