A couple in Florida have been arrested on charges related to online gambling. The two face over 300 counts of illegally setting up, promoting and/or conducting a lottery online… even though no online lottery site ever existed. Apparently, the man and woman joined a Facebook group called Lavish Life Bingo. Somehow, they duped people into sending them up to $45 at a time for a bingo game that never really existed. Once 20 people paid to join the fictitious game, the couple randomly selected a winner. That winner was paid $400 from the $900 pool the couple collected, netting them…

Naples News – Like Lucy does with Charlie Brown, the Legislature keeps promising Floridians an overhaul of gambling in the state — then pulls the ball away. This year was no different, with a grand run-up starting months before the legislative session. Lawmakers spent nearly $400,000 on a 700-page study. The takeaway? Expanding gambling would offer “at least a mildly positive impact on the state.” Then a group of senators led by Naples Republican Garrett Richter took to the road, holding a series of public workshops around the state. One telling, early sign: The Orlando-based No Casinos in Florida group…

NWF Daily News – An effort to relieve greyhound track owners of regulations requiring them to throw money at a losing venture failed in Tallahassee this legislative session. So too did an attempt to better protect the animals at Northwest Florida’s Ebro facility and the state’s 11 other racing parks. State Sen. President Don Gaetz was disappointed in the failure of the animal welfare bills, but said efforts to clean up greyhound racing could be considered again if a special session is called to discuss gaming issues. “The governor is shopping right now the idea of a special session dealing…

A Naples man ran an illegal gambling website and bragged to undercover agents about employing a national web of enforcers who collect debts, describing one of his strongmen as a Hannibal Lecter-type who “will eat your face off,” according to an arrest warrant obtained Wednesday. Thomas Welch, whose Poinciana Drive home was raided by Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents April 9, faces seven felony charges as he sits in a Lee County jail. In a 24-page warrant, Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agents describe several undercover meetings and communications with Welch, who discussed the operation of his website,…

PNJ.com – The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the federally recognized tribe that operates the Wind Creek Hotel & Casino in Atmore, Ala., has sent a letter to Gov. Rick Scott asking to negotiate a state compact that would allow “table gaming” in Escambia County.A March 24 letter from Poarch Tribal Chairman Buford L. Rolin said the tribe is eligible for Class III gaming in Florida because it has a 1-acre parcel in northwestern Escambia County that meets the definitions of “Indian Lands” under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The letter calls for a meeting with Scott and tribal…

Washington Times – A key lawmaker has pulled the plug on a legislative plan to broaden gambling in Florida during this year’s session, but supporters promise to revive the effort next year. The surprise move was announced in the middle of a Senate budget discussion by Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, who had led the discussion to implement more gambling in the state, opening it up to outside interests, including Las Vegas-style casinos in South Florida, as well as to establish a gaming commission to oversee the sector in the state. Richter cited the ongoing negotiations between Gov. Rick Scott and…