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Can I use BetMGM in Florida?

BetMGM, AmWager, Caesars, TVG, BetAmerica, and TwinSpires all accept Florida residents and hold multiple licenses from racing commissions in other states. Racing fans can read more about each Florida horse racing betting app at the links below: BetMGM Horse Racing.

bettingusa.com - Florida Sports Betting: Legal Online Gambling Apps In FL

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Florida Online Betting Legal online sports betting came to Florida with little warning in November 2021 and disappeared just as abruptly later that month. The Hard Rock Sportsbook app launched for Florida bettors on November 1st, 2021, but it ceased operations three weeks later after a district judge ruled against the state-tribal compact that authorized sports betting. Florida sports betting now exists in a state of legal limbo. The Hard Rock Florida app is inactive as various stakeholders fight for the future of legal sports betting and gambling in the Sunshine State. Other Florida online betting options include horse racing betting, greyhound betting, and daily fantasy sports. In-person betting options consist of horse racing betting at racetracks, jai alai betting, tribal casinos, and cardrooms. Some Florida cardrooms also host slot machines, electronic table games, and designated player card games.

Legal Online Betting in Florida

Fantasy Sports:

Horse and Greyhound Betting:

Florida Sports Betting

Florida temporarily legalized sports betting in 2021 by renegotiating its gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe. The federal Department of the Interior allowed the gaming compact to take effect, clearing the way for mobile sports betting and retail sportsbooks. The amended gaming compact authorized the Seminole Tribe to offer sports betting in Florida via three avenues:

Statewide mobile betting through the Hard Rock Sportsbook app

Retail sportsbooks at Seminole casinos

Retail sports betting at pari-mutuel facilities partnered with the Seminoles

Florida online sports betting crossed the finish line first, with the Seminoles launching the Hard Rock Sportsbook FL app in November 2021. However, a district judge overturned the amended gaming compact, putting the kibosh on Florida mobile sports betting just three weeks after it began. US District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled against the compact after finding it in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which deals with gambling on tribal land. In short, the question comes down to where a bet takes place. Florida and the tribes attempted to legalize online sports betting the easy way by agreeing to host sports betting servers on tribal ground and consider wagers placed from anywhere in the state as taking place on tribal land. Judge Friedrich ruled that logic a “legal fiction” and struck down the entire gaming compact amendment. The Seminoles requested a stay on the order so they could continue offering mobile betting while the case works its way through the system, but a District of Columbia appellate court denied the stay, leaving Florida sports betting on hold indefinitely. In early 2022, the Department of Justice appealed the judge’s decision, sparking yet another round of legal challenges. Barring a successful appeal, Florida will have to legalize sports betting the hard way. A constitutional amendment approved in 2018 requires a referendum for any gambling expansion. Florida sports betting is far from dead, but the ruling has certainly made things more complicated moving forward. FanDuel and DraftKings worked for months on a ballot initiative to legalize statewide online sports betting, but it failed to gain enough signatures to make it on the 2022 ballot.

Florida Sports Betting Law

Florida sports betting law is in a state of flux as a legal challenge to the underlying gaming compact works its way through the system. BettingUSA will monitor the case and provide updates here. That said, the Seminole Tribe fared well under its revised gaming compact, which made it the exclusive mobile sports betting hub in Florida. Under the proposal, all wagers placed through mobile devices must be routed through servers controlled by the tribe. The agreement also gave the tribe the option to partner with parimutuel operators to offer mobile betting in exchange for 60% of their revenue, but it was not obligated to enter any such agreements. If the compact survives its legal challenges, the tribe will share 13.75% of its sports betting revenue with Florida – but only if it partners with at least three parimutuel operators on sports betting within three months. If the tribe does not partner with at least three parimutuels, the revenue sharing percentage bumps up to 15.75%. There was speculation that the tribe would pay the higher tax rate to avoid entering revenue sharing agreements with pari-mutuels, but the Seminoles declined to take that approach. Instead, the Seminoles reached Florida sports betting partnership agreements with five pari-mutuel operators in October 2021:

TGT Poker & Racebook

Tampa Bay Downs

Ocala Gainesville Poker & Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.

Hialeah Park Casino

Palm Beach Kennel Club

Other provisions in the compact include the Seminole Tribe resuming its revenue-sharing payments to the state and dropping its opposition to player-banked card games at parimutuel facilities. In return, the Seminole Tribe also gains permission to offer craps and roulette at its Florida casinos. Additionally, the agreement permits the tribe to build up to three new casinos.

Other Florida Sports Betting Bills in 2021

Florida came into 2021 with several sports betting proposals on the board. Near the end of 2020, Senator Jeff Brandes prefiled three Florida sports betting bills (SB 392, SB 394, and SB 396) for the states 2021 legislative session. Together, the three bills outlined how Florida sports betting would work, established a tax rate, and set licensing fees for operators. The proposal would place the Florida Lottery in charge of sports betting, including issuing licenses to online sports betting operators. Under the proposal, licensing fees would total $100,000, and operators would pay a 15% tax on net revenue.

How the Seminole Tribe Affects Florida Sports Betting Efforts

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The Seminole tribe operates Florida’s two Hard Rock Casinos plus four Seminole Casinos and holds considerable sway over the state’s gambling industry. Under a 2010 gaming compact with the state, the Seminole tribe received exclusivity over certain forms of gaming in return for making revenue-sharing payments to the state. The tribe has transferred roughly $1.8 billion to the state since entering the 20-year gaming compact with Florida but stopped making payments in 2019 over the state’s refusal to take action against facilities operating “player designated” card games. The revenue sharing payment that year would have been worth an estimated $350 million. The games in question closely resemble house-banked card games over which the Seminole tribe has exclusivity but designate one player at the table to serve as the banker to skirt the law. Parimutuel betting operators have come to rely on player designated games for revenue and contend the loss of those games would cost the state hundreds of jobs.

Impact of Constitutional Amendment Uncertain

Florida voters approved Amendment 3 in the November 2018 election to further complicate matters for sports betting proponents. With the passage of Amendment 3, any efforts to expand gambling in Florida anywhere other than at tribal casinos must first be approved via statewide referendum and receive a 60% yes vote to take effect. Whether or not Amendment 3 covers sports betting is open to debate. As gaming attorney Daniel Wallach argued in a 2018 Forbes op-ed, the referendum’s language was unclear and could potentially be interpreted as not applying to sports betting.

Jai Alai Betting and Cruise Ship Sportsbooks

Parimutuel jai alai betting and sportsbooks on cruise ships exist as the two notable exceptions to Florida’s previous ban on sports betting. The exemption for jai alai betting dates to a time in Florida during which jai alai was much bigger than today. Jai alai came to Florida in the 1920s and quickly established a foothold. With warm weather year-round and easy access from Spain and Latin America, Florida became a popular destination for jai alai athletes from around the world. During its heyday, jai alai was even exempted from state and federal sports betting prohibitions. Jai alai maintained a strong presence in Florida through the 1970s but entered a steady decline in the 1980s amid increasing competition from professional sports teams, the lottery, and South Florida casinos. Today, jai alai is a niche sport, and there are only a handful of active frontons in operation. For the most part, jai alai survives primarily due to Florida gambling laws that require card rooms to offer some form of parimutuel wagering (such as jai alai, greyhound racing, or horse racing betting). Thus, most jai alai frontons exist primarily to facilitate other forms of gaming. The other “exception” to Florida’s prior sports betting prohibition occurs on cruise ships operated by Victory Casino Cruises. Victory Casino Cruise ships depart twice a day from Port Canaveral. These ships sail out into international waters, open a casino and sportsbook for a few hours and then come back to shore later that same day.

Online Horse Racing Betting in Florida

Advance deposit wagering is tolerated but not regulated in Florida. Lawmakers are disinclined to pass legislation explicitly legalizing online horse racing betting. Doing so would have significant implications for wide-ranging gaming compacts the state is renegotiating with the Seminole tribe. However, major ADWs licensed to offer online horse racing betting in other states accept customers from Florida and provide a safe wagering experience. BetMGM, AmWager, Caesars, TVG, and TwinSpires all accept Florida residents and hold multiple licenses from racing commissions in other states. Racing fans can read more about each Florida horse racing betting app at the links below: Horse racing betting is regulated in Florida by the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The following laws and regulations outline the rules under which parimutuel horse racing betting is conducted in Florida:

FL Stat § 550

Chapter 550 of the Florida Statutes deals with parimutuel wagering in general, including betting on horses. The law also lays out the rules governing jai alai, greyhounds, and poker. Under Florida law, facilities authorized for any of those forms of pari-mutuel wagering may also run cardrooms offering player-vs-player poker and designated player games that closely resemble Vegas-style card games but with one player always acting as the bank. This aspect of Florida racing law has led to the operation of numerous racetracks that just barely meet the minimum legal requirements to operate a more lucrative card room. Thus, Florida is home to many racetracks that meet the legal classification of pari-mutuel facilities but offer little by way of genuinely competitive racing.

The most prominent racetracks in Florida include:

Gulfstream Park Live racing Thursday – Sunday during the Spring – Summer meet 901 S Federal Hwy Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 Gulfstream Park West Live racing October – November each year 21001 Northwest 27th Ave Miami Gardens, FL 33056 Hialeah Park Quarter horse racing during the winter meet and simulcasting year round 100 E 32nd Street Hialeah, FL 33013 Tampa Bay Downs Thoroughbred racing November – June each year 1125 Race Track Road Tampa, FL 33626 Caesars Isle Pompano Park Harness racing October – May each year 777 Isle of Capri Circle

Pompano Beach, FL 33069

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Greyhound Racing in Florida

In November 2018, Florida voters approved Amendment 13 to end greyhound racing. The amendment made greyhound racing and betting on live greyhound races held in Florida illegal starting on January 1st, 2021. Existing racetracks may still offer poker and other games, but they will no longer be able to host live greyhound races or accept wagers on races that take place in Florida. This amendment also does not affect online greyhound racing betting, which remains legal because the amendment only prohibits wagers on races held in-state. Even so, the effects of the amendment are reverberating throughout the nation because Florida accounted for more than half the country’s remaining greyhound racetracks at the time it took effect. Floridians have just a handful of out-of-state greyhound tracks to bet upon moving forward, and that number seems likely to dwindle as well. The national greyhound industry has seen better days amid falling revenue and growing concerns over the treatment of greyhounds.

Florida Daily Fantasy Sports Apps

The legal status of daily fantasy sports in Florida is unclear. Neither legislation nor case law has ever decisively determined the legality of DFS. Nonetheless, numerous daily fantasy sites have served the state for years with no interference from local officials. Multiple attempts to formally legalize fantasy sports in Florida over the years have failed to advance, primarily due to concerns over how legalization would impact gaming compacts between the state and the powerful Seminole tribe. A 1991 Attorney General opinion compared season-long fantasy sports games to gambling and concluded that the activity is likely illegal under state law. The opinion is well out of date and holds no legal weight, but it could be referenced in court should the issue ever come before a judge.

In the meantime, FanDuel and DraftKings both accept Florida residents.

Is Online Gambling Legal in Florida?

The legality of online gambling in Florida is entirely dependent upon the activity in question. Online horse racing betting, greyhound betting, and daily fantasy sports are all permitted in Florida. Sports betting may join the list soon, but online casinos and poker remain prohibited.

FL Stat § 849.08 states:

Whoever plays or engages in any game at cards, keno, roulette, faro or other game of chance, at any place, by any device whatever, for money or other thing of value, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Whether or not this statute applies specifically to placing wagers with unlicensed operators is open to debate, but players who choose to visit offshore gambling sites do so at their own risk and potentially in violation of state law.

Florida Sports Betting FAQ

Is sports betting legal in Florida? No. Florida semi-legalized sports betting briefly near the end of 2021 by renegotiating its gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe, which resulted in the launch of the Hard Rock sports betting app. However, a judge overturned the compact and ended sports betting in Florida for the time being. What happened to Hard Rock online sportsbook in Florida? A district judge shut down Hard Rock Sportsbook just three weeks after it launched in November 2021 by overturning the state’s gaming compact with the Seminoles. The judge found the compact in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The Seminoles are fighting the case at the federal level today, but their odds of success do not look great. If the Seminoles lose the case, the Hard Rock Sportsbook app will remain unavailable until Florida successfully legalizes sports betting via other means. Where can I bet on sports in Florida? Pari-mutuel jai alai frontons and cruise ships that sail into international waters are the only places to bet on sports legally in Florida today. However, many in Florida are working on legalizing full-fledged, statewide sports betting. When will the first Florida sportsbooks open? It is unclear at this stage. Florida faces unique challenges in its quest to legalize sports betting. Its short-lived fling with online sports betting through the Hard Rock Sportsbook app highlights the difficult terrain the state must navigate to legalize retail sportsbooks and online betting sites. That said, many in Florida support legalizing sports betting. The biggest obstacle is how to get Florida’s various stakeholders on the same page regarding what form legal sports betting should take. Is FanDuel legal in Florida? Yes. FanDuel does not offer sports betting, but it does offer fantasy contests in Florida. Is DraftKings legal in Florida? Yes. DraftKings offers real-money daily fantasy contests in Florida for all major sports leagues. However, DraftKings does not offer standard sports betting in Florida. Can I bet on the Kentucky Derby in Florida? Yes. Florida is a great state for horse racing fans. Readers located in Florida can bet on the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Preakness Stakes Triple Crown events online through advance-deposit wagering sites and apps (ADWs). Some of the most prominent Florida horse racing betting sites include TwinSpires, TVG, and AmWager. Alternatively, fans can visit off-track betting facilities (OTBs) that provide live simulcasting and pari-mutuel wagering for the Kentucky Derby.

bettingusa.com - Florida Sports Betting: Legal Online Gambling Apps In FL