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Seminole Gaming’s COO, David Hoenemeyer, has released a statement as Florida wrestles with a rising illegal gambling industry. In recent months, the state has been host to several busts and stings, weeding out illegal gambling rings.
As we’ve previously reported, Florida has had a series of cases involving illegal gambling. Most recently, a raid found 11 stores housing illegal gambling machines. Cape Coral police seized over $500K in another raid, while nearly 250 machines were seized in yet another raid. That’s just in August.
Hoenemeyer’s statement speaks out against illegal gambling, particularly targeting the ramifications that come with gambling. Outside of the taxation issue, he brings up that these gambling houses often “prey on people who are unaware” of what they’re actually doing.
As there’s no legal backing for these backroom casinos, any issues that arise around the act of gambling won’t be able to easily sorted. Hoenemeyer speculates that these backroom casinos would also be used for drug-related activity, as well as “violent criminal activity”.
A reason given for their persistence is that the Florida law enforcement doesn’t have the resources, meaning that they’re lagging behind. However, it’s comparable to a hydra, with Hoenemeyer stating that as soon as “one illegal gambling house is closed down, another pops up in a strip mall down the street.”
Florida has strict anti-gambling laws, with two counties allowed to operate slot machines, and a litany of various restrictions for other types of gambling.
What gambling is legal in Florida?
From the Florida Gaming website, here’s what’s legal in the Sunshine State:

Pari-mutuel wagering on live and intertrack horse and jai-alai activities at licensed racetracks and jai-alai frontons
Casino gambling, including slots and table games, on certain Indian tribal lands
The Florida lottery games
Poker and Dominoes played for money, but only in a licensed cardrooms
Penny-ante games including poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, and mah-jongg may be played outside a cardroom only if the winnings of any player in a single game do not exceed $10 in value
Slot machine gaming at one of the eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities located in Miami-Dade or Broward Counties
Bingo, sweepstakes, and drawings for chance, if they comply with state law

It’s not the first time a warning has come out from Florida gambling outfits. The Florida Miccosukee tribe has recently had to come out and warn that illicit adverts using their branding are not to be followed, as online gambling is illegal in the state. ReadWrite also previously reported on the rise of illegal gambling in the US, with recent studies putting it at 74% of all gambling in the country goes towards illegal or offshore outfits.
Featured image: Hard Rock / Seminole Gaming
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Turbulent seas ahead, as a passenger decided to jump overboard from his cruise, with suspicions it was to avoid his $16,000 gambling debts. Jey Xander Omar Gonzalez-Diaz has now been picked up by federal prosecutors after he reportedly tried to escape his debts in Puerto Rico’s San Juan dock.
This all happened on the Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas, where Gonzalez-Diaz was saved from the waters by jet-skis. When he was scooped out of the ocean, he was found to have nearly $15,000 in cash on his person.
While it’s suspected he threw himself overboard to avoid the gambling debts accrued on the ship, he was charged with trying to transport over $10,000 outside the US. Police found that he was carrying $14,600 in cash at the time.
When interviewed by investigators, Gonzalez-Diaz claims that “he did not want to report the currency in his possession because he thought he was going to be taxed duties for bringing in the currency.”
According to reports, Gonzalez-Diaz owed the Royal Caribbean $16,710.24, which the criminal allegations filed against him state are “almost exclusively associated with Casino and Gaming expenses.”
The case isn’t over, however. NBC News reports that a Royal Caribbean spokesperson has declined the comment, as it’s an active investigation:
“… as this is an ongoing investigation, we are working with authorities and don’t have any more information to share.”
Fake names, multiple IDs found on cruise ship jumper
It’s also reported that Gonzalez-Diaz booked the cruise under the name “Jeremy Diaz”. When asked by Homeland Security agents for his full name, he refused to cooperate and said that, “If you guys were good at your job, you would know that.”

Cruise ship passenger in Puerto Rico jumps overboard allegedly to avoid $16,000 gambling debt. https://t.co/I9r4a6Y2hl
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 10, 2025

These reports, stemming from CBS, which obtained the documents, claim that he had a backpack, a handbag, two mobile devices, and five pieces of identification.
Gonzalez-Diaz has since been released on bail, according to Wapa.tv. If found guilty, he may face a $250,000 fine, a five-year prison sentence, or both.
Featured image: Michel Curi / CC BY 2.0
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Light & Wonder, Inc. has a new plan to repay its outstanding debt by offering $1 billion in “aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes.” These will be due in 2033, as a private offering. This comes as the firm became the first PAGCOR-licensed supplier for e-gaming in the Philippines this week.
An unsecured note can be a risky type of investment, as it is designed to flush a company with cash while it sorts out its finances. These will mature in 2033, with Light & Wonder paying interest along the way and repaying the principal at maturity. However, the risk here is that there’s no collateral or security around the note, so it highly relies on Light & Wonder being able to have the cash.
In the press release, Light & Wonder states that part of its three-pronged proposal for the cash is to “redeem all $700.0 million of LNWI’s outstanding aggregate principal amount of its 7.000% senior unsecured notes due 2028… including related fees and expenses.”
Light & Wonder seeks $1 billion to pay off debt
The other two prongs are to repay all outstanding borrowings “under its revolving credit facility.” Light & Wonder will also use the remaining proceeds for “corporate purposes,” which may include repurchases of the company’s equity.
As Light & Wonder joins the gaming market in the Philippines, its Vice President of Commercial Magdalena Podhorska-Okolow said the company wouldn’t be “reinventing the wheel.”
“We’ve had a lot of relationships, and we know what’s working in the market today,” she said.
“We know which game families are working. We know which games the Filipino players have learned to love over the years, and these are the games and the IP that we’ll be bringing digital versions of.”
The company has gone through some internal restructuring in the last few months. In June, it made significant changes to its legal team, while in April, it acquired a 20% stake in Bang Bang Games, a UK slot company. Also in April, the company was facing legal scrutiny over its games, with some games being found to potentially be in violation of copyright infringement. The company also found itself in infringement territory with its roulette games.
Featured image: Light & Wonder
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