(1) Any person who engages in bookmaking, as defined in s. 849.25, on the grounds or property of a pari-mutuel facility commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 948.01, any person convicted under the provisions of this subsection shall not have adjudication of guilt suspended, deferred, or withheld.
(2) Any person who, having been convicted of violating subsection (1), thereafter commits the same crime is guilty of a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 948.01, any person convicted under the provisions of this subsection shall not have adjudication of guilt suspended, deferred, or withheld.
(3) Any person who has been convicted of bookmaking in this state or any other state of the United States or any foreign country shall be denied admittance to and shall not attend any pari-mutuel facility in this state during its racing seasons or operating dates, including any practice or preparational days, for a period of 2 years after the date of conviction or the date of final appeal. Following the conclusion of the period of ineligibility, the director of the commission may authorize the reinstatement of an individual following a hearing on readmittance. Any such person who knowingly violates this subsection commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(4) If the activities of a person show that this law is being violated, and such activities are either witnessed by or are common knowledge of any pari-mutuel facility employee, it is the duty of that employee to bring the matter to the immediate attention of the permitholder, manager, or her or his designee, who shall notify a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction. Willful failure by the pari-mutuel facility employee to comply with the provisions of this subsection is a ground for the commission to suspend or revoke that employee’s license for pari-mutuel facility employment.
(5) Each permittee shall display, in conspicuous places at a pari-mutuel facility and in all race and jai alai daily programs, a warning to all patrons concerning the prohibition and penalties of bookmaking contained in this section and s. 849.25. The commission shall adopt rules concerning the uniform size of all warnings and the number of placements throughout a pari-mutuel facility. Failure on the part of the permittee to display such warnings may result in the imposition of a $500 fine by the commission for each offense.
(6) This section does not apply to any person employed by or attending a pari-mutuel facility who places a bet through the legalized pari-mutuel pool for another person, provided such service is rendered gratuitously and without fee or other reward.
(7) This section does not apply to any prosecutions filed and pending at the time of passage hereof, but all such cases shall be disposed of under existing law at the time of institution of such prosecutions.
History.—s. 41, ch. 92-348; s. 791, ch. 97-103; s. 23, ch. 2021-271; s. 37, ch. 2022-7.
Structure Florida Statutes
Title XXXIII - Regulation of Trade, Commerce, Investments, and Solicitations
Chapter 550 - Pari-Mutuel Wagering
550.0115 - Permitholder Operating License.
550.01215 - License Application; Periods of Operation; License Fees; Bond.
550.0235 - Limitation of Civil Liability.
550.0251 - Powers and Duties of the Florida Gaming Control Commission.
550.0351 - Charity Racing Days.
550.0425 - Minors Attendance at Pari-Mutuel Performances; Restrictions.
550.054 - Application for Permit to Conduct Pari-Mutuel Wagering.
550.0555 - Greyhound Dogracing Permits; Relocation Within a County; Conditions.
550.0651 - Elections for Ratification of Permits; Municipal Prohibitions.
550.0745 - Summer Jai Alai Permit Periods of Operation.
550.0951 - Payment of Daily License Fee and Taxes; Penalties.
550.09511 - Jai Alai Taxes; Abandoned Interest in a Permit for Nonpayment of Taxes.
550.09512 - Harness Horse Taxes; Abandoned Interest in a Permit for Nonpayment of Taxes.
550.09514 - Greyhound Dogracing Taxes; Purse Requirements.
550.09515 - Thoroughbred Horse Taxes; Abandoned Interest in a Permit for Nonpayment of Taxes.
550.125 - Uniform Reporting System; Bond Requirement.
550.135 - Division of Moneys Derived Under This Law.
550.1645 - Escheat to State of Abandoned Interest in or Contribution to Pari-Mutuel Pools.
550.1646 - Credit for Unclaimed Property Remitted to State.
550.1647 - Greyhound Permitholders; Unclaimed Tickets; Breaks.
550.175 - Petition for Election to Revoke Permit.
550.2415 - Racing of Animals Under Certain Conditions Prohibited; Penalties; Exceptions.
550.255 - Penalty for Conducting Unauthorized Race Meeting.
550.2614 - Distribution of Certain Funds to a Horsemen’s Association.
550.2625 - Horseracing; Minimum Purse Requirement, Florida Breeders’ and Owners’ Awards.
550.2633 - Horseracing; Distribution of Abandoned Interest in or Contributions to Pari-Mutuel Pools.
550.2704 - Jai Alai Tournament of Champions Meet.
550.334 - Quarter Horse Racing; Substitutions.
550.3345 - Conversion of Quarter Horse Permit to a Limited Thoroughbred Permit.
550.3355 - Harness Track Licenses for Summer Quarter Horse Racing.
550.3551 - Transmission of Racing and Jai Alai Information; Commingling of Pari-Mutuel Pools.
550.3616 - Racing Greyhounds or Other Dogs Prohibited; Penalty.
550.375 - Operation of Certain Harness Tracks.
550.475 - Lease of Pari-Mutuel Facilities by Pari-Mutuel Permitholders.
550.495 - Totalisator Licensing.
550.505 - Nonwagering Permits.
550.5251 - Florida Thoroughbred Racing; Certain Permits; Operating Days.
550.615 - Intertrack Wagering.
550.625 - Intertrack Wagering; Purses; Breeders’ Awards.
550.6305 - Intertrack Wagering; Guest Track Payments; Accounting Rules.
550.6308 - Limited Intertrack Wagering License.
550.6315 - Applicability of S. 565.02(5) to Guest Tracks.
550.6325 - Uncashed Tickets and Breakage Tax.
550.6345 - Intertrack Wagering; Purses When Host Track Is Harness Racetrack.
550.71 - Operation of Ch. 96-364.
550.901 - Interstate Compact on Licensure of Participants in Pari-Mutuel Wagering.
550.903 - Definitions; Interstate Compact on Licensure of Participants in Pari-Mutuel Wagering.
550.905 - States Eligible to Join Compact.
550.906 - Withdrawal From Compact; Impact on Force and Effect.
550.908 - Powers and Duties of Compact Committee.
550.909 - Voting Requirements.
550.910 - Administration and Management.
550.911 - Immunity From Liability for Performance of Official Responsibilities and Duties.