Politics
As legal betting booms, James Uthmeier, lawmakers target shadow gambling economy
Hundreds of millions of dollars in legal sports betting revenue are flowing into Florida each year, but a growing shadow gambling economy is siphoning money away from the state and its taxpayers.
Attorney General James Uthmeier is working to rein it in. He’s also asking the state lawmakers to raise the stakes by steepening penalties.
A key objective for Uthmeier in 2026 is to address the rapid expansion of illegal and legally ambiguous gambling activities across the state, particularly as they intersect with the Seminole Tribe’s Gaming Compact.
While the Seminole Tribe’s legal, state-sanctioned sports betting platform, Hard Rock Bet, has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for Florida, a parallel and largely unregulated ecosystem has emerged with it. This includes illegal brick-and-mortar casinos, offshore gambling platforms, sweepstakes-style gaming apps, fantasy sports platforms whose offerings blur into sports betting and federally regulated prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.
Each of those developments presents problems. Together, they have complicated enforcement and raised questions about compliance with state law and the 2021 Gaming Compact, which expanded Seminole-exclusive gambling across the state, including online sports betting operations projected to yield Florida $4.4 billion through 2030.
“We stand by the Compact with the Seminole Tribe,” Uthmeier told Florida Politics. “It’s been a huge success, and it’s a great way to ensure that Florida taxpayers are getting the benefit of a significant revenue share to the state, moving through an application and gaming apparatus that is highly regulated, safe and free from illicit activities.”
Uthmeier hasn’t been idle. He said he’s taken down numerous large-scale gambling operations over the past year. The highest-profile takedown occurred in June, when Uthmeier’s Office of Statewide Prosecution charged Osceola County Sheriff Marcos López and others in what it called a “massive Central Florida illegal gambling operation.”
The arrest followed an investigation by Uthmeier’s Office in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. López, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended on the same day of his arrest, faces racketeering and conspiracy charges for alleged crimes that generated nearly $22 million in illicit proceeds.
Uthmeier has said such illegal gambling operations are frequently tied to money laundering, human trafficking and other serious financial crimes beyond gambling violations.
To tackle online gambling platforms that operate from overseas, like Bovada and MyBookie, Uthmeier is looking into disrupting payment processor servers, web hosts that facilitate unlicensed gambling and access via virtual private networks (VPNs). It’s not an easily scalable effort — Uthmeier describes it as something of a “whack-a-mole” challenge — but it will be a big priority in 2026.
For fantasy- and sweepstakes-focused platforms, the Attorney General’s Office has issued subpoenas to several companies. Uthmeier and his staff plan to meet with leaders from those companies and others early in the year to exchange information, allow the companies to present their cases and inform them of the strict guidelines by which they must abide to continue doing business in the state.
Some fantasy sports and sweepstakes operators have publicly disputed characterizations of their offerings as illegal gambling, but said they’d work with regulators and lawmakers to ensure compliance with state law.
Meanwhile, operators of federally regulated prediction markets argue their products fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s jurisdiction, setting up a potential legal battle over whether state gambling laws apply to these platforms.
Alongside Uthmeier’s efforts, the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) has been ramping up enforcement operations through partnerships with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
In 2025, the FGCC said it seized nearly $14.5 million and 6,725 slot machines from illegal casinos — up from $7.1 million and 1,287 slot machines in 2024. The Commission said it also entered into 29 new memoranda of understanding with various law enforcement bodies.
New legislation to back it up
Uthmeier is also backing 2026 bills to strengthen penalties for illegal gambling and related advertising, both online and in physical locations. Many of the penalties in statute now are misdemeanors and, he said, insufficient and “make the risk-reward analysis very imbalanced.”
“We’re not doing enough to disincentivize people from engaging in this behavior,” he said. “People stand to make tens of millions of dollars through these operations, and getting a misdemeanor is really just a slap on the wrist.”
One measure now advancing in the House (HB 189) would institute a sweeping overhaul of Florida’s gambling laws, dramatically expanding criminal penalties, regulatory authority and enforcement tools across nearly all forms of wagering.
The bill, sponsored by Fort Pierce Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy, targets illegal casinos, online gambling, fantasy sports, slot machine trafficking, advertising and even transportation tied to illegal gambling.
It would also tighten ethics rules, add felony penalties for repeat or large-scale violations and strengthen the authority of the FGCC, which assisted in a multicounty seizure of hundreds of illegal gambling machines last month through a crackdown initiative dubbed “Operation Funny Money.”
Another bill (SB 204) by Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley is narrower and more procedural, focusing primarily on amusement games and slot machines.
The bill, which awaits its first Committee hearing in the Legislature’s upper chamber, would require specific organizations — especially veterans’ groups — to seek advance approval from the FGCC when legality is unclear.
It would also clarify when slot machine shipments are lawful, including on tribal lands, and modestly strengthen penalties for unlawful possession. Unlike the House bill, SB 204, in its current form, would not broadly expand criminal categories or address online gambling, fantasy sports, or advertising.
There’s also Seminole Republican Rep. Berny Jacques’ proposal, HB 591, which would dramatically overhaul Florida’s gambling enforcement framework, reclassifying many existing gambling-related crimes into higher felony tiers and creating new felony offenses for internet gambling, advertising gambling, transporting gamblers and manipulating games.
Unlike HB 189, which strengthens existing enforcement authorities while maintaining a focus on gaming integrity and compliance, HB 591 would pre-empt local regulation entirely, expanding the FGCC’s influence across nearly all gambling-related activity.
Some lawmakers and advocacy groups, including veterans’ organizations, have warned that broad felony expansions could unintentionally sweep in lawful activities or charitable events and need clearer definitions to avoid unintended consequences.
Jeremy Redfern, Uthmeier’s Deputy Chief of Staff, told Florida Politics that those who run unlawful gambling markets while providing no avenue for transparency or accountability to Florida consumers face a tough road ahead.
“Our office is working with the Florida Legislature to increase penalties and the Gaming Commission to take down illicit markets,” he said. “2026 will be a record year in the fight against illegal gambling and the other major crime it brings to our state.”
A key advisor to Gov. Ron DeSantis spent months getting close to a candidate to replace him, but now regrets and repudiates the move, which reports were that she initiated months ago because she liked his spicy approach to conservative politics.
“In October 2025, I met James Fishback after he sent me a direct message on X. I appreciated his commentary on conservative politics and Florida. For two months, we spoke frequently, and I offered him advice on his gubernatorial campaign. I was never working for him, I never received any form of compensation, and I never informed the governor of my communications with him,” said Christina Pushaw on Sunday night.
Pushaw, who makes a reported $155,000 a year as a senior advisor to DeSantis, claims to have disagreed with Fishback’s rhetoric as it got “more extreme over time,” but the specifics of her agreement and disagreement are left open in her posts.
Yet the extremism of Fishback’s views, which include repeatedly describing Rep. Byron Donalds using various racist tropes, wasn’t the deal-breaker.
Rather, it was Fishback allegedly trashing Pushaw behind her back.
“I had to cut ties with James Fishback because I learned that he had deceived me, violated my trust, and lied about me to numerous people in media and politics,” Pushaw says.
She says she never had a “romantic or sexual relationship” with Fishback, and that the candidate’s alleged stories about her are intended to distract from an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into him.
“Fishback has been spreading deeply personal, hurtful, and false rumors about me. He has claimed that we were romantically involved. He has even threatened to falsely accuse me of sexual harassment,” she says, calling Fishback “dangerous” and intent upon smearing her.
Pushaw says she apologizes to Donalds and to Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and his wife for having “coarsened the primary campaign and made it more toxic than it needed to be,” though it’s unclear what an appropriate level of toxicity would be.
She also apologizes to Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis for “for any embarrassment that my communication with James Fishback might ever bring on this office.”
“They had absolutely no idea and would never have condoned my communications with him,” Pushaw says.
Pushaw seems resigned to any consequences.
“I am fine with whatever fate awaits me. If this catastrophic error of judgement makes me unemployable, so be it. I made a mistake. I admitted to it. I want to make it right, and if that means never working in politics again, it’s a consequence I am ready to accept.”
Fishback’s meetings with people in DeSantis’ orbit have been a matter of intrigue, including a coffee with LG Collins last year while the Tampa Republican mulled running for Governor, and reported conversations with Taryn Fenske, another top aide.
Since coming to Tallahassee, Pushaw has been known for her combative tone with media and with politicians with whom the Governor had disagreements. She has weathered myriad storms, including retroactive disclosure of being a foreign agent before working for DeSantis.
Now we have a retroactive disclosure of electioneering from a taxpayer-funded post, and it remains to be seen what will happen next.
A chilling warning was sent to lawmakers on a holiday weekend.
Multiple members of the Duval County Legislative Delegation tell Florida Politics they or their staff got an email Sunday morning threatening to bomb their offices and shoot people there unless they make a ransom payment.
Because this is an ongoing investigation by the House Sergeant of Arms, we will not reveal the names of those who say they received it, but members of both parties say they got the communication, which purports to be from someone with a name and an email address included.
“I am writing this email to inform you all that there’s multiple bombs inside of your building …. I’m ready to die there on Monday. I have an AR-15 that I will be using to shoot everyone after the bombs explode,” the email reads, “at 10 a.m. Monday.”
The correspondent uses what could be false information to tell the lawmakers who got the communication to contact her if they want to negotiate a settlement.
Legislators did not recognize the name purportedly used to send the email.
At least one recipient says the email was sent to a previous office location. Law enforcement was informed, swept the location in question, and found it was all clear.
We have reached out to the House Sergeant at Arms office to get more information about the ongoing probe.
Politics
Sending soldiers to Minneapolis for immigration crackdown would be unconstitutional, mayor says
The mayor of Minneapolis said Sunday that sending active duty soldiers into Minnesota to help with an immigration crackdown is a ridiculous and unconstitutional idea as he urged protesters to remain peaceful so the president won’t see a need to send in the U.S. military.
Daily protests have been ongoing throughout January since the Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers.
In a diverse neighborhood where Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been frequently seen, U.S. postal workers marched through on Sunday, chanting: “Protect our routes. Get ICE out.”
The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers based in Alaska who specialize in operating in arctic conditions to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota, two defense officials said Sunday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said two infantry battalions of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division have been given prepare-to-deploy orders.
One defense official said the troops are standing by to deploy to Minnesota should President Donald Trump invoke the Insurrection Act.
The rarely-used 19th century law would allow him to send military troops into Minnesota, where protesters have been confronting federal immigration agents for weeks. He has since backed off the threat, at least for now.
Thousands of Minneapolis citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights and the protests have been peaceful, Frey said.
“We are not going to take the bait. We will not counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos here,” Frey said.
Gov. Tim Walz has mobilized the Minnesota National Guard, although no units have been deployed to the streets.
Peter Noble joined dozens of other U.S. Post Office workers Sunday on their only day off from their mail routes to march against the immigration crackdown. They passed by the place where an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, during a Jan. 7 confrontation.
“I’ve seen them driving recklessly around the streets while I am on my route, putting lives in danger,” Noble said.
Letter carrier Susan Becker said she came out to march on the coldest day since the crackdown started because it’s important to keep telling the federal government she thinks what it is doing is wrong. She said people on her route have reported ICE breaking into apartment buildings and tackling people in the parking lot of shopping centers.
“These people are by and large citizens and immigrants. But they’re citizens, and they deserve to be here; they’ve earned their place and they are good people,” Becker said.
A Republican U.S. House member called for Walz to tone down his comments about fighting the federal government and instead start to help law enforcement.
Many of the officers in Minnesota are neighbors just doing the jobs they were sent to do, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told WCCO-AM in Minneapolis.
“These are not mean spirited people. But right now, they feel like they’re under attack. They don’t know where the next attack is going to come from and who it is. So people need to keep in mind this starts at the top,” Emmer said.
Across social media, videos have been posted of federal officers spraying protesters with pepper spray, knocking down doors and forcibly taking people into custody. On Friday, a federal judge ruled that immigration officers can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren’t obstructing authorities, including when they’re observing the officers during the Minnesota crackdown.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
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