Wes Wolfe
Spinning up an agency from nothing can be an oddly compelling sight, since it’s been rare that people have the opportunity to see why some foundational decisions are made the way they are. Faced with an agenda light on line items but heavy on details, the Florida Gaming Control Commission decided what its guiding mission statement would be.
Of four options presented, Commissioners opted for the fifth.
“Preserve and protect the integrity of gaming activities through fair regulation, licensing, effective criminal investigation, and enforcement,” stated Concept 5, the off-menu selection Commissioners unanimously backed.
The fifth choice came from Commissioner Chuck Drago, said Commission Executive Director Lou Trombetta.
All of the concepts deal with basically the same issues, framed differently. Concept 1, for instance, was, “Regulate licensed gaming fairly and enforce criminal gambling prohibitions throughout the state,” and Concept 2 was, “Regulate lawful gaming and address unlawful gambling throughout the state.”
Concept 3 was, “Investigate and target illegal gambling while regulating licensed gaming,” while Concept 4 was, “Support safe gaming activities by regulating lawful activity while investigating and targeting unlawful activity.”
The similarities initially stood out more than the concepts’ differences.
“Commissioners, to me, all of these sound like different ways of saying kind of the same thing, which I think is something we’ve been saying all along,” Commission Chairman John MacIver said.
“I appreciate the fact that it’s been heard that we want the people who are trying to stay within the bounds of the law to get as much assistance from us as they possibly can, and the people who aren’t trying to follow the law, well, to be stopped by us.”
MacIver appreciated the message sent by each of the concepts, he added, though he felt the fifth was the most succinct and thorough.
Commissioner Julie Brown said she agreed 100%.
“I thought the concept more eloquently encapsulated all of the other four concepts together, so I support the fifth one,” Brown said.
