While the right to sell beer, wine, and liquor, is not an exclusive one, it is a highly regulated one. Each county is limited in the number of licenses permitted to be issued, hence the development of Florida’s Quota Beverage License Drawing. The drawing allows establishments to enter to win the right to apply for a quota license each year. Entry forms are accepted for 45 days beginning on the third Monday in August of each year.
For any establishment that sells less than 51 percent of food that wants to serve alcohol as well, they must obtain one of these licenses. When it comes to the quota aspect, for every 7,500 increase in an area’s population, one new quota license is created, thus any establishment that would like to obtain one must either buy a preexisting one or enter in the quota drawing lottery in order to win the right to one.
The lottery is a double random computer drawing that pulls from the group of applicants who qualify for the license in the different available counties. The goal of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco organization is to keep the alcohol and tobacco out range to anyone who is under aged, to ensure that the establishments that are licensed are also following the laws and rules that are regulating the industry in Florida, and to continue to collect fees and taxes that pertain to the aforementioned industries.
The drawing represents an opportunity that new businesses in Florida have to obtain a license, thus bringing in more customers and boosting the economy in the area of privatized companies. The hope is that the drawing will encourage businesses to stay within the code of laws that are already in place as well as inspire other businesses to work hard and enter for the chance to win the annual drawing in the future.
License for this drawing were available in the following counties: Bay, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Dade, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Polk, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, Sumter, Volusia, Wakulla and Walton.
Through a double random computer drawing, it ensures fairness and non-bias influence when choosing the winner of the drawing, making it all the more appealing for business owners to enter. With everyone on a level playing field, the Department can license competently and regulate objectively.