Illegal Gambling Defense in Miami

Some gambling charges are misdemeanors. Others are felonies that can follow you for life. If your business was raided, if machines were seized, or if you were arrested, call a defense lawyer before you talk to anyone.

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Gambling Charges We Defend

Florida's gambling laws are in chapter 849 of the Florida Statutes. The most common charges include:

• Slot machines (maquinitas). It is unlawful to own, keep, possess, sell, rent, transport, or permit the operation of a slot machine or device, or to allow one in a place you own, lease, or control. The law's definition is broad: it can cover a machine, system, or network that pays out money, credit, or anything of value, whether the result comes from skill or from chance. The law also presumes that a device is a prohibited slot machine if it displays images of games of chance and is part of a scheme involving payment of money and awarding anything of value. That presumption can be rebutted.
• Keeping a gambling house. Keeping a room, house, or other place for gambling, or permitting people to play for money in a place you control. Employees and agents of the keeper, and anyone who knowingly rents a place for gambling, face the same penalty.
• Bookmaking. Taking bets while in the business of gambling, on sports or any other contest or event.
• Illegal lotteries. Setting up, promoting, or running a lottery for money (for example, bolita), selling lottery tickets, or possessing tickets, tally sheets, or other lottery records.
• Betting on contests. Staking bets on contests of skill, speed, power, or endurance, receiving those bets, or holding the money.
• Playing at a game of chance for money. Playing cards, roulette, or other games of chance for money or anything of value.
• Knowingly letting a minor, or an adult who is mentally incompetent or under a guardianship, play or bet at a game of chance kept for betting.

Penalties Under Florida Law

The degree of the charge depends on what the State says you did:

• Slot machines: a second-degree misdemeanor for a first conviction, a first-degree misdemeanor for a second, and a third-degree felony after two prior convictions (the statute calls this person a common offender).
• Keeping a gambling house, working for one, or renting a place for gambling: a second-degree misdemeanor.
• Playing a game of chance for money: a second-degree misdemeanor.
• Bookmaking: a third-degree felony. The statute says the judge may not withhold adjudication. A second bookmaking conviction is a second-degree felony. Conspiracy to commit bookmaking carries the same penalties.
• Setting up, promoting, or running a lottery, or helping to: a third-degree felony.
• Selling lottery tickets or possessing lottery equipment or tally sheets: a first-degree misdemeanor, and a third-degree felony for someone previously convicted.
• Betting on, or taking bets on, a contest: a third-degree felony.
• Letting a minor, or an adult who is mentally incompetent or under a guardianship, play or bet: a third-degree felony.

What the degrees mean. Under Florida's general penalty statutes, the maximums are: second-degree misdemeanor, up to 60 days and a $500 fine; first-degree misdemeanor, up to 1 year and $1,000; third-degree felony, up to 5 years and $5,000; second-degree felony, up to 15 years and $10,000. These are maximums, not what every case gets.

Machines and money. When someone is arrested for a slot-machine violation, the officer takes the machines and their contents and must give the person an inventory. After a conviction, the court orders the machines forfeited and destroyed, with the exception of the money.

How We Defend Gambling Cases

1. Is it really illegal gambling? Some games are legal under other Florida laws, such as licensed pari-mutuel wagering, which the bookmaking statute expressly excludes. Some machines are not what police say they are. We look at exactly what the machine or game was and how it worked.
2. The bookmaking factors. The statute lists factors that point to a commercial bookmaking operation, such as taking more than five bets in a single day, taking bets totaling more than $500 in a single day or $1,500 in a week, or working with two or more people. Two factors may be enough for a prima facie case. We test whether the State really has them.
3. Your role. Owning the building, working the counter, and running the operation are not the same thing. We separate what you did from what others did.
4. The investigation. Undercover visits, surveillance, and searches of a business or home must follow the law. If they did not, the evidence may be challenged. See Motions to Suppress.
5. Protecting the business. Your business, your lease, and your licenses can be affected. We keep that in view from the start.

What to Do Right Now

1. Do not talk to police or inspectors about the machines or the games. Say you want a lawyer.
2. Do not move, sell, or destroy machines, records, or phones. That can create a new problem.
3. Keep every paper police gave you, including any inventory of what was seized.
4. Do not call your employees or partners to line up a story.
5. If someone is still in jail, see Bond & Nebbia Hearings. If there is a warrant, see Self-Surrender.
6. Call us. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
• Defending people since 2012.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

You can read about some of our past cases on our Results page.

Frequently Asked Questions

The machines in my store are games of skill. Are they legal?

Not necessarily. Florida's definition of a slot machine covers devices that pay out whether the result comes from skill or from chance. Whether a specific machine is legal depends on how it works and what it pays. Talk to a lawyer before you talk to police.

I only rent the space. Can I be charged?

Florida law makes it a crime to knowingly rent a place for gambling, and to permit a slot machine in a place you own, lease, or control. What you knew matters.

Is bookmaking a felony?

Yes. It is a third-degree felony, and the statute says the judge may not withhold adjudication. A second conviction is a second-degree felony.

Will I get the seized money back?

After a slot-machine conviction, the court orders the machines destroyed, with the exception of the money. What happens to the money depends on the case and any forfeiture proceeding. We address it early.

How fast can you help?

Our office answers 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.