Is Online Sports Betting Legal in Florida?

Presently online and offline sports gambling isn’t legal in the state of Florida, but hopefully that won’t be the case for longterm. Florida is in a exceptional position when it comes to legalizing online sports gambling. Following the Supreme Court’s historic ruling in May of 2018 to overturn the skilled and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), many states jumped headfirst to this multi-billion dollar business and immediately legalized sports betting.
Florida, sadly, wasn’t among them.
There are many reasons this is the case however, the largest one has to do with the nation’s longtime compact with the Seminole Tribe, which we’ll tell you more about beneath. The uncertainty about the long term future of the arrangement has become the biggest factor in the Sunshine State’s wait-and-see approach to legalization.
Nonetheless, there are solutions for residents of Florida while they wait for the state’s legislators to behave. Daily fantasy sports sites for example DraftKings and FanDuel accept players from Florida.
Horse racing websites like TwinSpires also operate from the state.
The lack of urgency and movement on this issue is certainly frustrating for gamblers, but it may not stay this way indefinitely.
The sports gambling landscape is shifting across the country and while it’s taking some state’s a very long time (some longer than others), it’s widely believed that it’s merely a matter of time before Florida gets in on the action.
This page is your complete guide to what you want to learn about the past, current, and future of online sports gambling in Florida. We’ll clarify the US Supreme Court decision on PASPA in more detail and explain how it figures to how sports betting law will take shape in Florida in the years to come.
We’ll also keep this page update with important advancements that may help or harm Florida’s chances of introducing legal sports betting in the not too distant future.
To learn more on other nations, read our state by state guides to US sports gambling laws.
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The Recent Online Sports Betting Situation at Florida
When the US Supreme Court overturned PASPA in 2018 it opened up the door for each state to create their own conclusions with regards to legalizing sports gambling in their jurisdiction. Each state can choose whether to do it all and if so, how the regulations will work.
Since every state has its own history and political/economic climate, we are very likely to see change happen at a different rate depending on which part of the nation you are talking about.
Sometimes the change to legal sports betting was already in the works and happened immediately. In other areas the switch seems inevitable and is only waiting for laws or other red tape to be taken care of. In different areas, legalization of sport gambling might not occur in any way.
Florida falls somewhere in the middle of these groups. The state is receptive to betting in general but there’s legal work that needs to be performed before full-scale sports betting will be made available.
The present condition of legal online sports betting in Florida is a bit complicated, to say the least.
Though Florida has the authority to legalize sports gambling, there are a few things standing whatsoever. The largest barrier is the pact that the country has with the Seminole Tribe.
Basically, the arrangement gives the Seminole Tribe a monopoly on most of casino games (blackjack, pai gow, casino poker variants, etc). On the other hand, the arrangement has gotten somewhat tenuous and the new possibility of sports betting has made the negotiations even more complicated.
As it stands now, nothing is currently occurring on the legalization front and also the very first chance for anything to change is March 2019, when the Florida Legislature meets next.
Florida definitely does not fall to the”Never going to happen” category in regards to legal sports gambling but it’s not likely to be leading the charge towards regulation. Like many nations, though, Florida is going to have a hard time dismissing the possible revenue when they see other neighboring states start to reap the rewards.
The Annals of Online Sports Betting at Florida
Florida is one of those states where sports betting laws haven’t changed much over the past 50 years or so.
Over the decades America has been through a number of reforms as soon as it comes to the laws governing sports betting. In the early 60s, in an effort to fight organized crime and mob related racketeering, the US government made inter-state sports gambling illegal together with the Federal Wire act.
The problem with that plan of action, not as what occurred with the prohibition of alcohol, is it only drove the business and stream of money further underground.
Three decades later, in 1992, the skilled and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was introduced in a bid to protect the integrity of American sports by making gambling on games prohibited anywhere outside of Nevada. Americans might not have been able to gamble on sports but it wasn’t long after that the net made it possible for offshore sportsbooks to provide their services to US gamers online.
Since then, the US has missed out on a huge revenue opportunity in the kind of controlled sports gambling. There is clearly a huge market for it as Americans spend billions annually wagering online in vegas and via unregulated off-shore casinos and sportsbooks.
As of this writing, sports gambling hasn’t been legal in Florida, interesting because the country has a relatively large gaming civilization.
Racetracks and casinos have become common place throughout the state, yet neither provides legalized sports gambling. The nearest thing people in Florida can gamble on is dog and horse-racing along with the game of jai alai which has been legal and popular to bet on in the state since the 1960s.
The only real option sports gamblers need to place wagers on games would be to use one of many offshore options, which are illegal.
Which Online Sports Betting Sites Are Legal in Florida?
As you can imagine, there aren’t any”legal” online sports gambling sites in Florida. However, several offshore options exist for internet sports bettors, but nothing which would constitute as valid.
While not technically illegal, offshore sportsbooks are risky to use since they’re based in far-off countries and not subject to authentic oversight or regulations. If something goes wrong with the organization or your accounts, it’s extremely difficult to resolve the circumstance.
Our advice is to wait for legal and fully regulated choices to arrive in the United States.
In the forthcoming months, and after March of 2019 specifically, we highly recommend returning to this a webpage for an upgrade as we intend to continue to keep readers updated with things regarding the legalization of sports betting across America.
What Sports Could You Bet on Online at Florida?
As of this moment, there are no sports you can wager on lawfully online or off. But if sports betting does become legalized in the state of Florida, it is going to bring with it a whole record of professional and amateuer sports to wager on.
Florida has a huge sports culture and tons of expert teams for taxpayers to root for. Below are some of the nation’s teams which will bring in a good deal of gambling action.
Soccer Florida is home to 3 NFL franchises in the Miami Dolphins, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jacksonville Jaguars so Floridians will have plenty of local NFL options to bet on when it becomes legal.
The country also includes a ton of NCAA teams with the biggest being the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles. Also drawing comparatively massive crowds for college ball would be the Miami Hurricanes, the South Florida Bulls and the UCF Knights.
Basketball
Basketball is enormous in Florida and the country is represented by not one but two NBA teams: The Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic. When sports betting becomes lawful in Florida that you can expect a lot of action to center around both of these franchises.
When it comes to NCAA basketball Florida’s biggest teams would be the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles.
Baseball
Two Major League Baseball teams call Florida home: The Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays, both of which have been set up in the 1990s. Florida is also home to MLB Spring Training annually that might also be possible to bet on later on.
Hockey
When you listen to ice hockey you might not think about Florida but the sport is relatively popular with two NHL franchises based in the state. The Tampa Bay Lighting and the Florida Panthers that play home games in the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. Sunrise is a city just west of Ft. Lauderdale and just north of Miami.
Wagering on Other Sports
After legalization takes effect, individuals in Florida is going to have the ability to to wager on all manner of pro sports, not only teams based in the nation. Gator and Seminole fans will also be eager to know that college sports should be available to wager on too, giving residents an opportunity to bet on dozens of college sports games each weekend.
When the time does come that we see legalized sports betting in the state of Florida, it would probably start with property based sportsbooks within a physical casino. Land-based gambling is usually accompanied by online sportsbooks offering the exact same betting choices as live places.
Is There No-Deposit Sports Betting in Florida?
Given that online sports gambling remains prohibited, the matter of no deposit gambling is currently moot. However, in case that online sports gambling becomes legal, citizens of Florida can anticipate a similar approach to what other states are currently offering.
In states like New York and Mississippi, bettors are usually required to make a deposit upon enrollment in order to create real money bets. Nevertheless, no-deposit promotions are popular and should you find one, take it. Bear in mind, though, that any kind of promotion regarding no-deposit wagering generally comes with a few strings attached.
Depositing rules differ from each online sportsbook you decide to utilize, so be certain that you pay careful attention to playthrough requirements, withdrawal restrictions and any additional fine print that comes with the offer.
What Is the Future of Online Sports Betting at Florida?
The most immediate key date will probably come sometime in March, as that’s the next time that the Florida Legislature will fulfill. Until then, there’s quite a lot of work that should be done in order to find out the implications of legalized sports betting on the present compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe.
But with more and more countries opting for legalization, it’s probably a matter of when not if sports betting betting will become legal in Florida. Though the Sunshine State might be proceeding at a slower pace than its neighbors, we forecast it’s only a matter of time until legislation has been passed on to push legalization forward.
There is also belief that a key part of Florida’s wait-and-see approach includes analyzing how other states have employed legalized sports gambling and using that information to determine the best path ahead.
What This Means For Sports Gamblers in Florida
Have patience.
Simply put, there’s far too much money up for grabs for Florida to ignore legalized sports betting forever, particularly as an increasing number of states move in that direction. When there are specific complications facing Florida, nothing motivates politicians more than prospective revenue.
Add to the fact that folks in Florida love sports and love to gamble and you have the recipe for a booming sports gambling market.
Until then, patience is required from sports gamblers throughout the state. If you’re on the lookout for updates on the situation, check back regularly as we will update this post as new information comes in.
We recommend circling March, 2019, on your calendars since it marks a meeting of the state legislature where talks about how Florida plans to move on this issue are on the schedule.

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