Florida residents had the opportunity to bet on sports legally for roughly one month in 2021 before a judge in Washington squashed the idea.
The Sunshine State had struck a deal that gave the Hard Rock Casino leeway to provide mobile betting through servers located on reserved land. Family-owned casinos like Magic City protested the pact and filed a lawsuit against the state. They won.
Following the decision, Hard Rock Casino took down its mobile betting app—ending legal channels for betting on sports in Florida. What now? Will legal sports betting come back to Florida? What’s the takeaway?
Florida will Reopen Legal Betting Discussions in 2023
Last year, Florida authorities attempted to pass legal betting through ballot voting in November, but the move failed. As a result, officials are eyeing August as the preferred month for reopening talks about mobile betting legislation.
That means all hope is not lost for Florida-based sports fans who would love to see legal betting platforms in their state. Of course, August discussions may not bear fruits. But Gov. DeSantis is for legal mobile betting.
The only challenge is to get every casino in Florida on the same page. If the governor decides to make Hard Rock the only betting provider, he will receive pushback from other operators.
But if DeSantis creates a pact that will see all casinos get the rights to offer sports betting, your favorite sportsbook might start operating in the Sunshine State before the year is over.
In the meanwhile, visit bestbettingsites to keep up to date with legal betting sites in Florida. The site features an extensive guide on betting in Florida, from the legalities to the best casino options in nearby states.
Tribal Casinos Can’t Offer Mobile Betting
The Seminole Tribe is allowed to provide casino games and betting services on tribal land. But that’s where their mandate ends. The Hard Rock Casino had invented a creative way to provide mobile betting in Florida.
But a judge in D.C. ruled that tribal casinos have no powers everywhere in Florida. As stated, the idea was to keep servers in tribal land but allow everyone in the state to access a betting app managed by the Hard Rock Casino.
The idea isn’t exactly unique. In Canada, many foreign betting sites have servers located in the Kahnawake Gaming Reserve. This allows them to provide efficient services in Canada without breaking local laws.
Evidently, the D.C.-based judge had a different thought on the same arrangement in Florida.
Offshore Gambling Sites Will Continue to Dominate
Many states with legal sports betting are succeeding in suppressing black market casino sites. Americans have shown their will to be through legal means where they’re available.
In Florida, bettors will continue to use offshore casinos and sportsbooks for an obvious reason. They lack a better alternative. Overseas casinos are not inherently illegal in Florida.
The thing is, Florida has no jurisdiction over casinos located in Panama, Costa Rica, or Curacao. These websites can offer their services throughout the US as long as they don’t set up physical offices in any state.
Florida residents can also bet on the foreign websites without getting arrested. The only risk is that they could lose money to scam operators. Or, they might not get attractive bonuses and quick payouts.
With few betting options, however, black market casinos and sportsbooks will continue to dominate the FL betting space. Truth be told, a lot of foreign bookmakers are just as good as their American counterparts.
They support all Major Leagues, international sports, and competitions. They welcome new customers with huge bonuses and work with reliable payment providers. The only catch, as mentioned: some of them are unsafe.
FL Bettors Can Drive to Neighboring States with Legal Sportsbooks
FL sports fans may not have legal mobile sportsbooks for now. But they can do something that was previously popular with New York residents before the Empire State legalized betting.
We’re talking about driving to states with legal sportsbooks to place their bets there. Before NY legalized betting, millions of New Yorkers would drive to New Jersey for betting reasons.
Florida residents have a similar option. But there’s a challenge. The state’s closest neighbors—Georgia and Alabama—do not offer legal betting. The closest location with legal mobile betting from Florida is Tennessee. Another viable option is Louisiana.
Support for Legal Betting is Increasing
Were it not for the disagreements between the Seminole Tribe and commercial casinos, sports betting would be legal in FL by now. Instead, attempts to legislate sports betting laws have faced opposition at every stage.
First, the Seminole Tribe opposed attempts to commercialize sports betting. Then some land-based casinos lobbied against mobile betting. After FL forged a pact with the Hard Rock casino, independent operators opposed the move.
Despite these hindrances, sports betting is getting tremendous support from sportsbooks and sports fans throughout the state. For example, national bookies DraftKings and FanDuel spent millions of dollars urging voters to sign a petition to legalize betting. Ultimately, the move didn’t succeed. But they will have another chance in 2024.
Of course, the success of legal betting in FL will only happen if more people support the idea. Sports fans already want legal betting to happen. They just need to push for it a little bit harder.
FL Could Soon Become a Major Betting Market
When you think about it, Florida is one of the most sports-loving states in the US. There’s a sports franchise in nearly every major city. That’s a big indication of the potential legal betting holds in the state.
With a population size of nearly 22 million people, there’s a lot of money to be made if sports betting becomes legal. New Jersey, which has half the population, generates more than $2 billion from mobile betting every year.
The sheer amount of money that can be made by legalizing iGaming in FL is enough to keep bookmakers and casinos lobbying for legislation. Of course, it won’t just be the sportsbooks benefiting. Florida will add thousands of jobs and generate hundreds of millions in yearly tax income.
