DORADO BEACH HOTEL CORPORATION, A DELAWARE CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
W. A. JERNIGAN, APPELLEE
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Dorado Beach Hotel Corporation sought to collect a $6,000 gambling debt from a Florida resident who lost money at the corporation's licensed casino in Puerto Rico. The court held that gambling obligations valid in Puerto Rico cannot be enforced in Florida because such enforcement would violate Florida's public policy, which permits only restricted forms of gambling incidental to spectator sports.
No. A gambling obligation, although valid in the state where created, cannot be enforced in Florida because it is contrary to Florida's public policy. Florida's public policy permits only restricted forms of gambling incidental to spectator sports and does not recognize gaming table wagers as valid obligations.
“a gambling obligation although valid in the state where created cannot be enforced in Florida because it is contrary to public policy”
States the core holding that valid out-of-state gambling debts are unenforceable in Florida due to public policy
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceW. A. Jernigan, a Florida resident, gambled at Appellant's licensed casino in Puerto Rico where casino gambling is legal. Jernigan lost money and gave…
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Dorado Beach Hotel Corporation has appealed from a summary final judgment denying it the right to collect a gambling debt in Florida. The sole question is, Can a gambling obligation valid in Puerto Rico where created be enforced in Florida?
W. A. Jernigan, a Florida resident, while in Puerto Rico where casino gambling is legal, gambled in Appellant’s licensed casino, lost money and gave Appellant a check for $6,000.00 to pay for his losses. Jernigan then stopped payment on the check, and the Hotel brought this action in Florida. The trial judge entered summary final judgment for defendant on the grounds that the debt was uncollectable *831by virtue of Section 849.26, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. We are in accord with the pronouncement in Young v. Sands, Inc., 122 So.2d 618 (Fla.App.3d, 1960), to the effect that a gambling obligation although valid in the state where created cannot be enforced in Florida because it is contrary to public policy, and therefore affirm.
The public policy of this State is that the forms of gambling made legal are contests staged for those seeking pleasure in the State — primarily tourists. These contests are staged between men, horses or dogs, and part of the entertainment afforded to the spectators is the State’s permission to wager on the outcome of these restricted events provided the State receives its “cut of the take”. In essence the public policy of the State of Florida is established to permit, a restricted type of gambling which is incidental to spectator sports. This State has consistently refused to permit gambling on non-spectator sports such as bookie parlors, football parlors, et cetera. Thus, the public policy of the State of Florida is well established that the State will condone certain selected forms of gambling, but it has likewise been established that the State will not lend its judicial arm to the collection of monies wagered in such enterprises not authorized by the law of the State of Florida. Although many efforts have been made to obtain legal sanction for wagering at gaming tables, such authorization has never been given; and should a citizen of the State of Florida lose at a gaming table in the State, clearly the operator could not collect through the judicial processes. It is our conclusion that this forum will not extend its judicial arm to aid in the collection of this type gambling debt whether the transaction giving rise to the loss arose in Nevada, Puerto Rico or Monte Carlo.
Affirmed.
WIGGINTON, C. J., and SPECTOR, J., concur.
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M & R Invs. v. Hacker, 511 So. 2d 1099 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)…iew denied, Case No. 70,463 (Fla. Aug. 13, 1987). A public policy defense was rejected. The other cases relied upon by the debtor and by the trial court, Young v. Sands, Inc., 122 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960); Dorado Beach Hotel Corp. v. Jernigan, 202 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 1st DCA 1967), dismissed, 209 So. 2d 669 (Fla.1968); and Barquin v. Flores, 459 So. 2d 436 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), are all inapposite here because they did not implicate the Full Faith and Credit Clause. In each of these cases the creditor sought…
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GNLV Corp. v. Featherstone, 504 So. 2d 63 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)…the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act contained in Section 55.501, et seq. declared unconstitutional. The trial court, relying upon Young v. Sands, Inc., 122 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960), and Dorado Beach Hotel Corporation v. Jernigan, 202 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 1st DCA 1967), invalidated the Nevada judgment, but did not expressly rule upon the constitutionality of the above statute, although the parties raised it in their motions for summary judgment. We reverse, holding the Florida Enforcement of Fo…
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Barquin v. Orestes Flores and Jose Flores, 459 So. 2d 436 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)…, Judge. Florida courts have consistently held that gambling obligations, even if valid in the [*437] state in which they were undertaken, are unenforceable in Florida as contrary to law and public policy. See Dorado Beach Hotel Gory. v. Jernigan, 202 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 1st DCA 1967), appeal dismissed, 209 So. 2d 669 (Fla.1968); Young v. Sands, Inc., 122 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960); § 849.26, Fla.Stat. (1977). Thus, we find no error in the trial court’s dismissal of Barquin’s complaint, even though the gamb…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Huey T. Young v. Sands, Inc., 122 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)