Miami Herald – Jai-alai has devolved into farce, a spectator sport with pretend spectators, a sad excuse for pari-mutuel license holders to stage the poker rooms and slot machine extravaganzas preferred by modern gamblers. But jai-alai, at least, is harmless farce. Players aren’t forcibly pumped full of steroids or locked in pens. Players don’t keel over dead on the fronton floor. When jai-alai players become too old and slow to compete, trainers don’t shoot them in the head and toss their bodies into mass graves. As Florida’s pari-mutuel farces go, jai-alai scores considerably less repugnant than greyhound racing. The public…

The News Service of Florida – Even as lawmakers wade into a major debate about the direction of gambling in Florida, regulators said Friday they will start rewriting rules that play a critical role in the operations of racetracks and jai-alai frontons. “In their current form, the laws regulating the industry are unclear and do not define many standards necessary to ensure the continued integrity of pari-mutuel wagering,” the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation said in a news release. “The draft rules are designed to clarify terms and maintain traditional pari-mutuel standards.” The announcement came as state lawmakers…

From Bradenton Herald The law was quickly passed last month after the arrests of 57 people and the resignation of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll in connection with St. Augustine-based Allied Veterans of the World, which operated a chain of strip-mall mini casinos or so-called “Internet cafes.” To close what they said was a loophole exploited by some Internet café companies, lawmakers made sure to eliminate an exception for nonprofit groups that conduct sweepstakes. But that word change, along with a few others, put AARP’s contests potentially in jeopardy. “AARP Florida was surprised by the consequences of this new law,” Jeff…