Despite the great effort, the Florida Casino Gaming Expansion Initiative will not be on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8th, 2022, as it didn’t get enough signatures. Of the required 891 586 signatures by 5 pm on February 1st, 814 212 signatures were obtained.
A now failed initiative was originally designed to expand casino gaming in Florida by allowing businesses with proper licenses to offer casino gaming as long as they are located 130 miles in a straight line away from any of the seven Seminole tribal casinos.
Luckily, the failed mission to expand casinos in Florida didn’t disrupt gambler enthusiasts in this state much as they have a total of 77 casinos spread out across 31 cities at their disposal. If interested, you can find the map of Florida casinos at Casinos.us writers.
Generally, the Sunshine State makes a clear distinction between traditional casinos and online gambling. Whilst land-based gambling laws are clear, online betting rules are not.
The State’s legislators have been working hard to introduce a legal framework for betting apps and online sports betting in the last couple of years. However, due to the filing of several lawsuits, this process has been stalled.
Meanwhile, Florida gambling laws regulating online casino sites are still far from becoming a reality. This inconvenience has made a lot of Florida residents turn to the alternative of gambling at offshore casino sites.
History of Online Gambling in Florida
If there’s one thing that can be said with certainty, it’s that Florida gambling has always been a hotly debated subject. Even though online gambling is not legal in the Sunshine State, that is not due to the lack of effort. In fact, the Florida legislature has been trying to legalize both sports betting and online casinos for years now, and the push for legalization is continuing in 2022.
Given that Florida is the tourism capital of the United States, there’s no doubt that a lot of people from all over the world would partake in online gambling when they visit if they had the opportunity to do so.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle with online gambling is the Seminole Tribe in southern Florida which has a monopoly on all casino card games. If online gambling were to become legal, a new tribal compact would need to be negotiated to ensure that the tribe and state are both benefiting.
Sports Betting in Florida
Sports betting has been legal in Florida since May 2021, when the Florida House of Representatives signed a gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe. The first sports betting mobile app was launched on November 1st; however, unfortunately, Seminole Tribe was forced to take down Hard Rock’s sportsbook app one month later, after seeing their appeal turned down.
The latest sports betting initiative, one that was supported by both DraftKings and FanDuel, failed to reach the number of signatures required to be placed into the November 2022 ballot. With that being said, mobile sports betting won’t be going live in the Sunshine state until 2023 at the very earliest.
Sports Wagering Alternative
Given the circumstances, it is totally understandable if residents of the Sunshine state are eager to place their sporting bets. While it is recommended to sit tight and be patient for mobile sports betting apps to appear in Florida, you can always go with an alternative and place your wagers on offshore casino sites.
Due to the accessibility of offshore websites, online gambling as well as sports betting in Florida has been thriving. However, if you opt for this solution, you must be extra careful on which sites you gamble as there are a lot of scamming and unregulated casino sites out there. Cybersecurity should be at the top of your priorities.
When you are looking to make an account on an offshore casino site, the first thing you need to do is make sure that the site is licensed and regulated. Take some time to research and read reviews. Also, make sure to carefully read the terms and conditions.
The variety of games available, the number of deposit and withdrawal methods as well as generous and fair bonuses are the main things you should look for in an offshore casino site.
