Planting the Seeds of Change in Florida

Since mid-2001, when the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services ("DACS") overtook the administration, regulation and enforcement of game promotions from the Florida Department of State, DACS has become the proverbial bane of the promotion world's existence. Since taking over game promotion duties, DACS has taken an extremely aggressive posture with respect to the enforcement of the Florida Games of Chance Statute § 849.094 (the "Statute"), which sets forth registration, bonding, advertising and fulfillment requirements for game promotions conducted within the state. Most notably, DACS has set forth a consistent pattern of levying monetary fines against game promotion sponsors for untimely promotion registration filings as well as for late or neglected winners list submissions. With fines ranging between $500 and $1,000 per offense, DACS has sent a clear message to the promotion industry that strict compliance with the requirements of the Statute is mandatory.

In December 2003, Jim Kelly, a senior attorney with DACS, invited the promotion industry to submit its opinion as to how the Statute should be modified, such that the industry could more successfully adhere to its overly onerous and outdated provisions. Since Mr. Kelly put forth this invitation, promotion industry groups have been hard at work brainstorming over more current and industry-beneficial changes to the Statute. The most major changes that we anticipate will be suggested include (1) requiring that only the material portions of the official rules (i.e., the abbreviated rules) be included in print advertising circulated in Florida, rather than requiring the full official rules; and (2) increasing the threshold amount for game promotion registrations to over $20,000 in aggregate prize values, from the seemingly outdated $5,000 prize value threshold. The rationale for such changes is obvious: the inclusion of the full rules in print advertising subjects game sponsors to extreme expenses, while the prevalence of Internet access has given potential game entrants easy access to the complete official rules via an Internet web address. In addition, a promotion with a prize pool exceeding $5,000 may have been considered a large prize pool when the Statute was originally enacted over 20 years ago, however, in today's world, $5,000 does not represent a significant amount of money.

Although the industry's suggestions have not yet been incorporated into a Florida State bill, there is some legislation currently pending, Florida House Bill 0571, which makes some minor modifications to the Statute, including only requiring a list of winners who have won prizes with a value exceeding $100, instead of $25. Whether or not some or all of the suggested changes are incorporated into the law, it appears as if DACS is at least willing to work towards a compromise that will adequately protect Florida consumers, yet also ease the arguably outdated constraints on promotion sponsors. Hopefully this will lead to smoother sailing for promotions in the Sunshine State.