The Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) has served cease-and-desist notices to three prominent offshore unregulated sports betting and online casino operators, ordering them to immediately stop accepting business from gamblers in the Sunshine State. The notices were announced on Monday and were sent to Harp Media B.V. the parent entity of Bovada.lv, Milvus Ltc, the parent entity of BetUS.com.pa, and Gaming Services Provider, N.V., the parent entity of MyBookie.ag.
The three sites are among the largest unregulated offshore books accepting traffic from US states, and the notices' primary focus was on the sites' online sportsbook services, the largest revenue generator for the sites. All three sites also offer online casino games, and Bovada Poker is one of the largest unregulated poker sites serving the US market.
Notices sent ahead of Super Bowl week
The C&D notices were sent at the start of Super Bowl week, the busiest seven-day stretch for the American sports-betting world. The notices declared:
"[The gambling websites offered by your overseas bookmaking and casino operation] offers or accepts wagering on sports and horse races, including betting on point spreads, moneylines, and totals, as well as proposition bets and futures in the sportsbook and adding money to bet slips in the racebook. Under Florida law, this conduct is a felony offense. See § 849.14, Fla. Stat. Further, it is a felony offense to receive illegal wagers on the result of any trial or contest of skill, speed or power or endurance of human or beast, or to aid, assist, or abet such illegal wagering. Id."
“Gaming, both land-based and online, is strictly regulated in Florida. For example, when it comes to slot machine gaming, counting the eight legal, state-licensed slot machine businesses, and the six tribal gaming locations currently operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, there are only fourteen legal slot machine businesses in Florida,” said the Florida Gaming Control Commission's Executive Director, Ross Marshman. “The only online sportsbook operating lawfully in Florida is the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Hard Rock Bet. Anyone in Florida betting on the Big Game needs to know this. Bettor beware.”
Pullback continues for Bovada
Bovada, the offshore site with the longest history in accepting traffic, under multiple names, from the US, has been forced to withdraw its services from numerous US jurisdictions over the past couple of years. Currently, the site is unavailable in 17 states and the District of Columbia. The complete list of American jurisdictions where players are barred from Bovada is as follows:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Colombia
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
Florida could become the 19th US jurisdiction where Bovada is forced to withdraw its services, though if so, it's likely to not occur until after this Sunday's Big Game. The C&D excerpt published by the FGCC does not indicate whether the cessation of services was demanded to take place immediately or allows a brief window to wind down operations.
The other offshore sites targeted here by Florida face legal pressure from other states as well. Just a week ago, MyBookie.ag received similar notice from gaming regulators in Michigan, a state that already succeeded in ousting Bovada last year.
