Drew Dixon
While law enforcement and Florida gaming officials have been able to bust illegal gambling rackets in some counties, those same law enforcement experts say current state laws don’t go far enough to thwart outlaw operations.
Florida Gaming Control Commission officials joined prosecutors and other members of law enforcement to testify before the House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee, decrying current anti-gambling laws. They say current statutes simply don’t deter illegal gaming.
“There’s only so much money to go around. If a dollar does not go to a licensed facility or a tribal facility, it’s going into a criminal’s pocket. It’s as simple as that,” said Ross Marshman, Acting Executive Director of the Gaming Control Commission.
A platoon of prosecutors from multiple Florida judicial circuits also testified that officials feel strapped in their efforts to crack down on illegal gambling. Law enforcement officers from various jurisdictions urged lawmakers to enhance illegal gambling measures when the Legislative Session begins March 4 in Tallahassee.
“There is zero disincentive for these establishments to close down due to the misdemeanors that they face,” said Chief Ed Cayenne from the Homeland Security Division of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. “They are willing to pay the fines and continue the operations because they are so profitable.”
During the testimony before the House subcommittee, officer after officer recounted major busts made on illegal gambling houses in different jurisdictions. But most of those law enforcement experts acknowledged that despite high-profile busts, illegal gambling racketeers feel largely undaunted.
“When we do execute search warrants, we have employees running out the back doors with bags of cash,” said Dan Singleton, chief investigative services of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, where multiple illegal gambling crackdowns were executed in 2024. “I don’t know of any other legitimate business that during normal business hours, when a law enforcement officer comes to the front door, you have an employee flee out the back with a bag of cash.”
Other law enforcement officials urged members of the Legislature to get tough and increase the severity of charges surrounding illegal gambling in Florida.
“Felonies open up greater forfeiture opportunities and search warrant opportunities,” said Bill Gladson, State Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit in the Ocala area.
