SB 204 Florida Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Gaming

Summary

Gaming; Requiring certain organizations, before purchasing, installing, or operating a game or machine on their premises, or that already have a game or machine installed on their premises, and are in doubt about whether such game or machine meets the definition of an amusement game or machine, to petition the Florida Gaming Control Commission for a declaratory statement on whether the operation of such game or machine is authorized or prohibited; prohibiting such organizations from purchasing or installing a game or machine until such declaratory statement is issued; providing criminal penalties for specified offenses relating to the manufacture, possession, and sale of slot machines or devices, etc.

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S 204 Filed → S 204 c1 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill adds a new requirement for veterans' service organizations with alcohol licenses to petition the Florida Gaming Control Commission for a declaratory statement before purchasing, installing, or operating certain game machines if they are unsure whether those machines qualify as legal amusement games. The bill also expands criminal penalties for slot machine violations and clarifies exemptions for legal gaming device shipments to Indian lands.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a general gaming clarification to specifically target veterans' service organizations with alcohol licenses, adding a new petition requirement for them while maintaining the existing framework for other entities.

REQUIREMENT

Veterans' service organizations with federal charters and alcohol licenses must now petition the Gaming Control Commission for a declaratory statement before purchasing, installing, or operating game machines if they are uncertain about whether the machines meet legal definitions.

The commission must issue declaratory statements within 60 days and cannot deny validly requested petitions.

ENFORCEMENT

New subsections clarify that the petition requirement does not prevent law enforcement from investigating violations and does not require all amusement game operators to seek declaratory statements.

Criminal penalties for slot machine violations were expanded to include felony charges for those with ownership interests or authority at the location, and for repeat offenders.

DEFINITION

New definitions for 'ownership interest' and 'person of authority' were added to clarify who can be held criminally liable for slot machine violations.

TIMELINE

The bill specifies that the commission must issue declaratory statements within 60 days of receiving a petition.

TECHNICAL

The bill was formatted as a committee substitute version with updated metadata and formatting changes from the original filing.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Feb 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

CS by Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; YEAS 10 NAYS 0

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government, 02/12/26, 4:30 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Regulated Industries; YEAS 9 NAYS 0

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Regulated Industries, 01/27/26, 1:00 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

upper

Nov 3, 2025

Committee

Referred to Regulated Industries; Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; Rules

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors