Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed on Friday a bill that would have required the Florida Lottery to place warnings about the addictive nature of gambling on lottery tickets and advertising materials. Former State Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a similar piece two years ago.
Gov. DeSantis said Friday that his decision to reject the effort was prompted by concerns over the impact slapping warning messages would have on money the Florida Lottery contributes for education.
Sponsored by Rep. Will Robinson, House Bill 629 would have required certain messages to be prominently displayed on the front of all lottery tickets sold in the state. The messages would have read: “Warning Lottery games may be addictive” or “Play responsibly.” The same warnings would have been required to be put on all lottery ads and promotions.
If Gov. DeSantis had not vetoed the legislation, it would have come into effect from January 1, 2020. The bill would have also required the warnings to cover about 10% of the surface of lottery tickets.
Florida’s top official said in a letter accompanying his veto that “as governor, one of my key priorities is making higher education affordable for Florida families.” He added that the bill would reduce the state Lottery’s “ability to continue maximize revenues for education and negatively impact Florida students.”
The Florida Lottery generated record sales of $6.7 billion in the 2017-2018 fiscal year and is on track to surpass that record this year. The agency is a major sponsor of various education programs including the Bright Futures college scholarships. According to official data, the Lottery annually contributes $1.8 billion in funding for higher education.
Estimated Impact
Gov. DeSantis’ veto did not come as a big surprise. The official showed he was not the biggest fan of the proposed measure since it surfaced in April. As mentioned above, former Governor Rick Scott prevented a similar effort from materializing in 2017, saying that it would impose “burdensome regulations” on the lottery games and retailers.
If HB 629 had succeeded, it would have made Florida the first state in the nation to feature warnings on its lottery tickets.
Lottery officials have warned that the bill could result in annual reduction of between $79.4 million and $232.7 million in money that lottery games generate for the state’s higher education system.
The Florida Lottery has also pointed out that the addition of responsible gambling messages could require the need for larger tickets, which would rocket costs and possibly affect contracts with lottery retailers that offer vending machine games.
There have been warnings that the proposed measure could affect Florida’s participation in multi-state games such as Powerball and Mega Millions. Lottery officials further argued that the bill’s provisions could put an end to scratch-off games that feature popular TV shows such as Wheel of Fortune and board games such as Monopoly and Scrabble.
Gov. DeSantis wrote in his letter that the proposed regulations “would impact the Lottery’s ability to continue to take advantage of all these avenues.”
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