Florida Cracks Down On Illegal Casinos

When betting in Florida is so restricted, as it is right now, undoubtedly, you’re going to get folks that bend the rules. Welp, in Volusia County, you’ll get full-on betting rules destruction.

Volusia County is in the east-central part of the state. Most famously, it’s the county that’s home to Daytona Beach, and now, illegal gambling runs.

This story happened over the Summer, but it flew a little under the radar. It shouldn’t have though because it’s bonkers — and the quintessential “Florida man” story. Let us take you into what happened:

11 Illegal Casinos Uncovered In Florida

Detectives from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, with the backing of the Florida Gaming Control Commission, launched a series of coordinated raids inside the county in July 2024. The raids came after a two-year investigation.

The findings? Eleven casinos operating in the shadows and collecting millions in profits throughout Volusia County. Here’s all of locations that were shut down as part of the sting operation:

• Preview Games, 2411 Enterprise Road, Orange City.
• Winner’s Circle, 1250 S. State Road 15A, DeLand.
• Cyber Monkey, 350 S. Spring Garden Ave., DeLand.
• Phoenix 3, 2500 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand.
• Comptrek, 2525 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand.
• Lucky Seven Arcade, 1720 S. U.S. Highway 17, Pierson.
• Spin-N-Win, 1464 Ocean Shore Blvd., Ormond Beach.
• Winners, 1468 Ocean Shore Blvd., Ormond Beach.
• Lucky Duck, 1376 N. Nova Road, Daytona Beach.
• Klix Arcade, 1101 Derbyshire Road, Daytona Beach.
• Jiffy, 986 S. Nova Road, Ormond Beach.

In a video announcing the bust, Sheriff Mike Chitwood compared the crackdown to “playing whack-a-mole.” His full quote is below for reference:

“Throughout Volusia County, we have these illegal gambling houses that are popping up all over,” Chitwood said. “It’s sort of like playing whack-a-mole. We’ll go in with a cease-and-desist order, they’ll temporarily shut down and then change locations and operate in a different venue.”

Illegal Casinos Were No Small Operations

Don’t think these were tiny operations either. No, the scale of the illegal gambling rings might’ve been the most surprising part of the whole story. Detectives seized nearly 400 slot machines and close to half a million dollars in cash.

Even worse, investigators alleged the casinos’ illegal activity went even deeper. We’re talking “shootings to armed robberies to fatal drug overdoses to burglaries, thefts, and assaults”, as the press releases mentioned. Remember the Robert Deniro movie Casino? By the sounds of it, these casino operators were like those movie characters in real life.

The story ain’t done yet though. According to the sheriff’s office, these illegal casinos often target those least able to afford the risk: seniors living on fixed incomes. The investigation mentioned old-timers were given free meals to keep them inside the casinos as long as possible.

Just how much money were these operations making though? That’ll show their scale more than anything else. Investigators mentioned one of the casinos pulled in a staggering $37 million in slot machine revenue in 2023 alone and turned in a $5 million profit. With money like that, no wonder they were able to keep popping back up, despite previous cease-and-desist orders. You don’t let revenue like that just die off…

Florida’s Strict Betting Laws To Blame?

All this raises the all-important question: are Florida’s laws against gambling to blame here? And the hypothetical question, if fully legal betting was a thing in the Sunshine State, would these issues just go away entirely?

To be clear, casinos are legal in Florida — just not in the way you probably think. Tribal casinos, namely the Seminole Tribe, have compacts with the state that give them exclusive rights to offer Las Vegas-style betting. Just under 10 casinos are available in Florida via these connects.

Investigators believe those casinos confused bettors, which led them to bet illegally in the first place. In the statement, they said so, “many believe these illegal gambling operations are no different from the regulated casinos that operate in Florida.”

Well, they’re not regulated, which means the millions they made were completely tax-free and stay in the owner’s pocket. Seminole Tribe, through their Hard Rock casinos and mobile betting app, contribute taxable revenue to the Florida Education Enhancement Trust Fund. See? It’s the students who are getting screwed over by these casinos — and the elderly folks being conned of their money, of course.

What Happens Next?

What are the chances of Florida expanding its legal casino offerings outside of just tribal casinos? After all, having commercial operators — that can set up shop in non-tribal land — would open the market up to more Florida bettors. This would make it less likely for old-timers to have to fall victim to these schemes.

Never say never, but don’t hold your breath on this issue. The compact Florida has with the Seminole Tribe runs until 2051 — another three decades. On top of casinos, the compact also gives the tribe the sole right to offer sports betting.

We’ll tell you what though, Chitwood wants a more open Florida betting market. Here’s a money quote from him once the investigation closed.

“The Legislature needs to make a decision: Either make it legal, and regulate it, or shut it down,” said Chitwood, effectively throwing down the gauntlet to state lawmakers.