Provides relative to enforcement of illegal online gambling (OR SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

HB 883 expands Louisiana's prohibition on illegal online gambling by amending the criminal code provisions in R.S. 14:90.3 and establishing new enforcement mechanisms in R.S. 27:19.1 and 19.2. The bill broadens the definition of gambling by computer to explicitly include dual-currency games that simulate gambling and accessible via mobile devices and similar access devices. It increases criminal penalties for persons who engage in gambling by computer from a maximum twenty thousand dollar fine and five years imprisonment to a maximum one hundred thousand dollar fine and five years imprisonment. The bill creates new criminal liability for financial transaction providers and platform providers who knowingly support or facilitate online gambling operations, with penalties up to twenty thousand dollars and five years imprisonment, doubled when minors are involved. The bill also provides that each individual wager constitutes a separate violation and mandates court-ordered forfeiture of all profits derived from gambling by computer activities.

The legislation affects multiple categories of persons and entities. Financial transaction providers including payment processors, credit card issuers, financial institutions, and money transmitting businesses face criminal liability if they knowingly accept or process transactions connected to gambling by computer, though the bill permits them to voluntarily block transactions they reasonably believe are restricted. Platform providers storing or hosting online content face liability if they knowingly receive or transmit communications related to online gambling and may voluntarily block such information. Persons directly offering online gambling games face substantially increased criminal penalties. Licensed gaming operators and legitimate fantasy sports providers remain unaffected through specific statutory carve-outs. The Attorney General gains authority to send cease and desist notices to alleged violators and maintain a public list of notices on its website, with notices constituting prima facie evidence of knowledge of illegal gambling activity.

The bill operates within Louisiana's existing criminal and gaming regulatory framework established across Title 14 and Title 27 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. R.S. 14:90.3 has long prohibited gambling by computer as a criminal offense, and this bill significantly strengthens enforcement and expands the scope of prohibited conduct. The measure preserves exemptions for licensed riverboat casinos, official gaming establishments, charitable gaming licensees, pari-mutuel wagering facilities, state lottery operations regulated under Title 4 and Title 27, fantasy sports activities under R.S. 27:302 and 305, and sports wagering conducted under Chapter 10 of Title 27. The bill includes a safe harbor provision consistent with federal law protecting internet service providers and platform providers from liability under 47 U.S.C. Section 230 when they merely host third-party content without primary purpose of conducting gambling as a business. The cease and desist notice mechanism creates a civil administrative enforcement tool separate from criminal prosecution, allowing the Attorney General to identify violators and establish constructive knowledge of illegal activity among financial and platform providers.