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Florida Proposes Launch of a $25M Gambling Regulatory Body
By Jeff Osienya Oct 17, 2021 LegalityFlorida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation proposes a $25 million budget for establishing the state’s gaming regulatory oversight agency. The agency is planned to be steered by about 180 full-time employees.Earlier in the year, during a Special Session on gaming, Florida legislators mauled over creating the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC), a law enforcement body for gambling oversight and other related matters. Come May, the measure – tabled under SB 4A, was okayed by state governor Ron DeSantis as part of Florida’s Gambling Enforcement Act. At that time, only $2.1 million was appropriated for the FGCC, which hasn’t been formed until now.
Now, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) in Florida is proposing that the state set aside about $25 million to get the gaming ombudsman up and running. This starting budget is more than 10 times what legislators had previously proposed in the Special Session on gaming. According to the DBPR, the funds would also be appropriated towards a range of gaming enforcement mandates, including:
Quote“Expanding the authority of the Office of State-wide Prosecution within the Department of Legal Affairs to investigate and prosecute certain crimes; creating the Florida Gaming Control Commission within the Office of the Attorney General; creating the Division of Gaming Enforcement within the commission; specifying that certain persons are ineligible for appointment to or employment with the commission; providing standards of conduct for commissioners and employees of the commission, etc.”
Julie Brown, the DBPR Secretary whose agency answers directly to Gov. DeSantis, recently informed members of Florida’s House budget panel to transfer $14 million from the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering and channel it to the establishment of the FGCC. Further, Brown told the committee that the new gaming oversight body would also require another $10 million to cater to the new Division of Gaming Enforcement. This $10 million would be used for hiring and training 15 law enforcement officers, staffing needs such as vehicles and pieces of operative machinery, among other items that will help with the effective running of the FGCC.
Operational Structure of Florida’s New Gaming Watchdog
Based on the Gambling Enforcement Act signed into law in May, the FGCC will be running within the mandate of the Office of the Attorney General. Additionally, the gaming regulatory agency will serve at the pleasure of Cabinet-level law-enforcement administration, just two levels below the state governor’s office. Ultimately, the Sunshine State’s AG will be part and parcel of enforcing any gambling crimes committed.
With the establishment of the FGCC, the reporting structure has been changed up. Previously, the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering handled the state’s gaming compliance under the direction of the DBPR.
As for its administrative hierarchy, the FGCC will be led by an Executive Director and a team of five Commissioners. There will also be an Office of the Inspector General whose task will be to keep things above board and consult with the gaming regulator on issues such as integrity, risk, liability, and compliance.
The newly proposed $25 million funding will assist the FGCC in ramping up its volume of staffers from just 15 employees and managers (under the initial $2.1 million budget) to nearly 200 full-time officials and supporting workforce.
However, it’s worth pointing out that this new gaming oversight body will not be replacing any agencies that currently serve the Sunshine State’s gaming sector. Based on a recent report published by local media house Florida Politics, the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering will retain its 109 payroll staffers. The Division of Gaming Enforcement, on the other hand, will have 20 employees, whereas the Division of Administration will have a workforce of 29 personnel.
Now, Gov. DeSantis has until the beginning of 2022 to appoint the Commissioners, whereas the deadline for the appointment of FGCC’s Executive Director is April 1st next year.
Budget Comparisons with Other Gambling-Legal US States
Even though the $25 million budget for setting up the gaming regulatory agency in the Sunshine State may sound hefty, it is in fact one of the smallest in the legal US gambling scene. At $8 million, Mississippi is the only US state whose budget for a gaming oversight body is smaller than that of Florida.
Michigan, one of the few states whose gaming watchdog’s budget is close to Florida’s, has a $27 million budget. Meanwhile, New York, whose budget for the state gaming regulation commission is the most expensive in the US, is more than five times that of Florida, at $114 million. Looking at the number of staffers running the show in the regulatory agencies across the country, Florida’s number of employees is right at the nationwide average.
The DBPR further disclosed that it had sought direction from other states with operational gambling markets such as Nevada and New Jersey to draft a more comprehensive blueprint. The DBPR Secretary said:
Quote“Through these conversations, we believe the requests that we are proposing will be sufficient to accomplish the Commission’s goals while also remaining fiscally prudent for Florida’s taxpayers.”
State by state budget comparison aside, the most important figure to consider is the size of revenue that expanded gambling is expected to generate for Florida. The Seminole Compact, which is currently awaiting federal approval, guarantees the state revenue worth at least $2.5 billion over the next five years. Better still, the overall revenue is expected to hit a minimum of $6 billion by 2030 as the market continues to mature.
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