Arcade raids: The line between legal and illegal gambling, casinos in Florida

Posted by author January 25, 2025 Gambling

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Law enforcement may have hit the jackpot with its recent raids on illegal arcades and gambling houses.

A Jan. 16 statewide operation took down multiple illegal gambling establishments around the state, including two adult arcades on the Treasure Coast: Pharaoh’s Treasure in Vero Beach and Treasure Hunter’s Arcade in Fort Pierce.

As the cycle continues of illicit arcades getting busted and new ones taking their place, it helps to understand what exactly constitutes illegal gambling in Florida.

What counts as illegal gambling in Florida?

As a rule of thumb, most forms of gambling are illegal in Florida, but there are specific exemptions, such as the Florida Lottery. State law defines gambling as playing or participating in any card game or game of chance, at any place, by any device, for money or another thing of value.

Most forms of pari-mutuel gambling are illegal, which is the system in which bets are pooled together and the “house” takes a cut. However, Florida currently allows pari-mutuel betting on horse racing and card rooms licensed by the state. Greyhound racing ended when a statewide referendum passed in 2018 that banned the sport as of Jan. 1, 2021.

Here are other types of gambling permitted in Florida:

Casino gambling on lands belonging to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Casino gambling is also legal on cruise ships, but only if they have left Florida territory.
State-run or national lotteries, such as the Powerball and Mega Millions
Specifically poker and dominoes played for money, but only in licensed cardrooms
Small social games, such as poker, at the kitchen table are fine as long as a single round does not exceed $10 in value.
Bingo, raffles and drawings for chance if run by a “charitable, nonprofit, or veterans’ organization” — so grandma’s bingo hall is legal

Arcades busts

Running an arcade is a gamble in itself. When adult arcade busts appear in the headlines, it’s frequently for operating illegal slot machines.

Slot machines are heavily regulated by the Florida Gaming Control Commission and are permitted only on Native American tribal lands. If a game has a randomized element, or if the prize is determined by random chance, it is considered illegal. These games were the basis of a 2016 Florida circuit court decision that ruled against Palms II internet café in Ocala, which resulted in its temporary closing.

The law does not apply to video or physical games requiring skill where the prizes are tokens or tickets that can be exchanged for other prizes. That means the law clears games frequently featured at Dave & Buster’s or Chuck E. Cheese. Skee-Ball is safe.

What about sports betting?

Gambling on sports has been a long-contested issue in Florida. As of now, many forms of sports betting is illegal in the state. But after two years of legal challenges, the Seminole Tribe of Florida finally launched sports betting at its casinos and on the Hard Rock Bet mobile app.

The tribe first tried to legalize sports betting in 2021 after it signed a 30-year, multibillion-dollar deal with the state to allow online sports betting on tribal lands. But because gamblers from anywhere in the state could place bets on the app, other pari-mutuel operations sued, alleging it would cause a “significant and potentially devastating impact” on their business. It wouldn’t be until 2023 when Florida would legalize sports betting.

That allowed Floridians to bet on the Super Bowl for the first time in 2024. Before then, it was It’s also illegal to bet on “any trial or contest of skill, speed or power or endurance of human or beast.”

Oddly enough, betting on bowling tournaments is legal.

Some argue the law doesn’t go far enough

While testifying before the House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee in early January, Chief Ed Cayenne from the Homeland Security Division of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office argued the laws don’t go far enough to prevent illegal gambling. “There is zero disincentive for these establishments to close down due to the misdemeanors that they face,” Cayenne said. “They are willing to pay the fines and continue the operations because they are so profitable.”Florida law states it’s a second-degree misdemeanor to play “cards, keno, roulette, faro or other game of chance, at any place, by any device whatever, for money or other thing of value.” The same penalty applies to those who run an illegal gambling house or arcade. Some law enforcement officials argue the penalties for illegal gambling in Florida should be bumped up in severity.

“Felonies open up greater forfeiture opportunities and search warrant opportunities,” said Bill Gladson, state attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit in the Ocala area.

Jack Lemnus is a TCPalm enterprise reporter. Contact him at jack.lemnus@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1345, or follow him on X @JackLemnus.