Marc Dunbar

Marc W. Dunbar

Shareholder / Tallahassee
Fax:

(850) 577-0095

Marc Dunbar

Marc W. Dunbar

Attorney / Tallahassee
Fax:

(850) 577-0095

Email:

mdunbar@deanmead.com

About Marc W. Dunbar

Marc is recognized for thinking outside of the box, known as a creative problem solver by clients and coworkers. He excels at helping people navigate difficult issues. Marc focuses his practice on governmental relations and legislative advocacy, commercial transactions and gaming. He has 25 years of experience, and he advises a wide range of clients, with particular emphasis on businesses in highly regulated industries. He handles legal matters and provides lobbying representation for a multitude of regulated industries, including motor vehicle manufacturing and dealerships, gaming, tobacco, alcohol, healthcare services and providers, and medical cannabis.

At the trial and appellate levels, Marc is regularly engaged in litigating complex statutory and constitutional matters. He has more than two dozen reported appellate cases that he has won on behalf of clients in regulated professions. In addition to civil, administrative, and appellate litigation, Marc has been very active in assisting regulated entities and private equity firms in exploring and evaluating emerging opportunities in industries in which federal and state governments exercise high levels of oversight and law enforcement agencies focus their scrutiny. He is frequently asked by industry clients to draft proposed changes to complex rules and statutes affecting regulated professions in Florida and elsewhere.

Along with his work for regulated industries, he also practices ethics and elections law representing a host of statewide campaigns such as the campaign for Governor Ron DeSantis and the Republican Governors Association. He has served as a gubernatorial appointee to one of Florida’s water management districts and most recently as an appointee by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer to the boards of Florida’s Property Insurer of Last Resort, Citizens Property Insurance Company, and the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association.

Furthermore, he has extensive private-sector experience outside of his legal practice. Among other examples, he has twice served in senior executive capacities for large, integrated gaming properties; qualified as an expert witness in a gaming-related administrative trial; founded and sold a gaming-related business; and regularly retained as a game-design consultant.

Marc is a member of the Board of Visitors for Florida State University College of Law, where he also serves as an adjunct professor.

Following law school, Mr. Dunbar worked for several years in the public sector. He was recognized for his exceptional legal work by Florida Tax Watch, and he was a recipient of the Davis Productivity Award, which honors state employees for exemplary service to Florida’s taxpayers.

Experience Highlights

Over more than 25 years of practice, I have drafted, passed and defended in court some of the most comprehensive legislation impacting Florida’s regulated industries. Specific instances include the rewrite of Florida’s gambling statutes and the creation of its Gambling Control Commission and the comprehensive franchising act regulating the relationship between RV dealers, manufacturers and warranty companies that has served as the national model.

After years of vetoes, I was part of the team that successfully created on behalf of clients funding mechanisms for funding and retaining the facilities that support Florida’s Major League Baseball Spring Training and the Agricultural/ Educational facilities located across the state.

  • International Association of Gaming Advisors
  • International Masters of Gaming Law

  • Juris Doctor: Florida State University, College of Law, Tallahassee, Florida, 1994
  • Bachelor of Arts: cum laude, Florida State University, 1991

  • International Masters of Gaming Law Conference, President's Award (2017)
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Gaming Law and Administrative/Regulatory Law (2018-2024)
  • AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating in Martindale-Hubbell
  • Florida Trend, "Florida Legal Elite" (2013-2020)
  • Northwest Florida Water Management District, Gubernatorial Appointee (2015-2018)
  • Executive Appointee by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Citizens Property Insurance Company, Member of Board of Governors (2018-2019; and recently reappointed for term ending on July 31, 2022)

  • Lead Organizer and Faculty Member, New Gaming Regulator Training, 2023 North American Gaming Regulators Association (NAGRA) Training & Education Conference
  • "Compact Expansion and New Federal Rules", William S. Boyd School of Law Indian Gaming Past & Present, March 3, 2023
  • Panelist, "Navigating Ethics in Gaming Law", International Masters of Gaming Law Expo, October 11, 2022
  • Moderator, "Sports Betting in North America," International Masters of Gaming Law Virtual Conference, November 10, 2020
  • Moderator, “Effects of the 2016 Elections and Emerging Trends facing Gaming in the United States”, May 1, 2017
  • Panelist, "Daily Fantasy Sports State Regulation Update," April 27, 2016, San Francisco, California
  • "Gambling or Not: Defining the Legal Status of Products at the Intersection of Gambling and Entertainment," February 2, 2016, London, England
  • "Legislative and Policy Update," January 16, 2016, Orlando, Florida
  • "Sports and Gaming: What's Legal, What's Not," January 16, 2016, Orlando, Florida
  • "Internet/Mobile/Social Gaming and Virtual Currencies," August 22, 2015
  • "Regulating Skill-based Games," June 22, 2015
  • "Regulated Gaming, Grey Games and Entertainment: Where is the Line?" March 3, 2015, Las Vegas, Nevada
  • "The Morphing of Social Gaming, Fantasy Sports, and Sweepstakes into Gaming," February 12, 2015, Las Vegas, Nevada
  • "Internet Café and Gray Market Slot Machine," January 3, 2015
  • "The Comment Period: The Public’s Role in Gaming," Global Gaming Expo (G2E), September 25, 2013, Las Vegas, Nevada - Sands Convention Center
  • "Horse Racing at a Crossroads," May 9, 2013
  • "Gambling and Public Policy," February 26, 2013
  • "Gaming Law," July 25, 2012
  • "Gaming in Emerging Jurisdictions," April 17, 2012
  • "Mid-size and Regional Brick and Mortar Operators Panel," May 3, 2011
  • "Sweepstakes and Slot Machine Laws," March 3, 2010
  • "Sweepstakes and Slot Machine Laws," March 3, 2009
  • "History of Sweepstakes and Slot Machine Laws in Florida," March 3, 2008

  • "Virtual Gambling", International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL) Magazine, July 2023 (Article)
  • "DC Circuit Opinion Favorable to Seminole Tribe, Reinstating 2021 Compact", June 30, 2023 (Article)
  • "Florida Gaming Control Commission Faces Crossroads on Gaming Facility Regulation", May 16, 2023 (Article)
  • Quoted in "The Silent Campaign: Florida lawyers gearing up for election fight," WPTV, October 16, 2020
  • “Florida chapter, International Comparative Legal Guide (ICLG) to: Gambling 2020”, Co-Author, November 20, 2019
  • "The State of Indian Gaming in Florida," Indian Gaming Lawyer, Co-Author, April 19, 2018
  • Florida Chapter, Chambers Global Practice Guides: Gaming, Gambling & Licensing, Author (1st ed. 2018), February 6, 2018
  • Florida Chapter, International Comparative Legal Guide to: Gambling, Author (3rd ed. 2017), December 19, 2016
  • News from Florida Gaming Congress, December 22, 2015
  • Florida Chapter, International Comparative Legal Guide to: Gambling, Author (2nd ed. 2016), December 19, 2015
  • "Florida's Uncertain Legal Landscape for Fantasy Sports: A Closer Look," Gaming Law Review and Economics, November 2015, 19(9): 644-651. doi:10.1089/glre.2015.1994., October 22, 2015
  • Florida Chapter, International Comparative Legal Guide to: Gambling, author (1st ed. 2015), January 1, 2015
  • "Tackling a Hidden Danger," iNTERGAMINGLAW Magazine, Issue 2, November 18, 2014
  • "Does Ruling Spell Doom for Poker as a Skill?" Ante Up Magazine, October 18, 2014
  • "Divergent Views on Advancing Technology Deployment Across Country," October 1, 2013
  • "Florida: A Market Preparing for the Future," Casino Enterprise Management, April 24, 2013
  • "BLACK FRIDAY: The poker world a year later," Ante Up Magazine, March 24, 2013
  • "It's time to bet big in the polls," Ante Up Magazine, October 24, 2012
  • "The History of Internet Cafés and the Current Approach to Their Regulation," UNLV Gaming Law Journal: Vol. 3: Iss. 2, Article 5, September 24, 2012
  • "No destination casinos in Florida in 2012," Ante Up Magazine, February 24, 2012
  • "Don't go 'Wild' with those casino markers," Ante Up Magazine, January 24, 2012
  • "Court says 'Table Talk' not protected in poker,'" Ante Up Magazine, December 24, 2011
  • "Florida: Gambling's Next Big Market?" Casino Enterprise Management, December 24, 2011
  • "Lost money online? It's no surprise," Ante Up Magazine, November 24, 2011
  • "Florida poker: 15 years of change," Ante Up Magazine, October 24, 2011
  • "Make judges play poker for money, then see if it's luck," Ante Up Magazine, September 24, 2011
  • "Anti-gambling enforcement increased," Ante Up Magazine, July 24, 2011
  • "Get politically active to help online poker," Ante Up Magazine, June 24, 2011
  • "Will Florida ever get intrastate online poker?" Ante Up Magazine, April 24, 2011
  • "The house has the edge in the courtroom, too," Ante Up Magazine, March 24, 2011
  • "Being Banned is Possible if You Misbehave," Ante Up Magazine, February 24, 2011
  • "Gambling Advice: Don't be a Felon In 2011!" Ange, January 24, 2011
  • "Elections deal blows to poker, gaming chances" Ante Up Magazine, November 24, 2010
  • "Wanted: Political champions for poker," Ante Up Magazine, September 24, 2010
  • "What Constitutes Gambling?" Ante Up Magazine, August 24, 2010
  • "Struggling with the 'Grey Market,'" Ante Up Magazine, July 24, 2010
  • "Let the silly season begin," Ante Up Magazine, June 24, 2010
  • "Struggles at the sausage factories," Ante Up Magazine, May 24, 2010
  • "The Seminole Compact explained," Ante Up Magazine, April 23, 2010
  • "Lobbying money paid off big for Florida in 2009," Ante Up Magazine, March 24, 2010
  • "2010 could be monumental for poker in the Southeast," Ante Up Magazine, February 24, 2010
  • "Poker profits up in the Sunshine State," Ante Up Magazine, February 24, 2010

  • Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida

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