Florida Gambling and News

There aren’t currently any Florida online gambling options at this time when it comes to casinos online. However, Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen noted that the tribe might push to alter the current gaming compact to allow them in the near future.

Until then, Floridians have a list of sweepstakes casino options available. All of them are free to play. The best of the bunch are Pulsz, Chumba Casino and Luckyland Slots.

There are also seven land-based Florida gambling options. All of them are tribal locations and owned by the Seminole Tribe or the Miccosukee Tribe. The largest property in the state is the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa.

Poker is not permitted online under Florida gambling state law at this time. If the tribe is successful in altering compact language to allow casino games, online poker will certainly be included.

For now, the best option for poker is Global Poker, a social and sweepstakes online card room that allows you to play for actual prizes.

Meanwhile, there are more than two dozen poker rooms around the state at various casinos and pari-mutuels, and several major tournament events take place in the state each year. If you want to play cards in Florida, you have many options, as long as you don’t mind getting in the car.

The Seminole-owned Hard Rock Bet is the only sportsbook in the Sunshine State.

Thanks to the 2021 Florida gaming compact, the Seminole Tribe has exclusivity over online betting. As a result, there’s only one online Florida online gambling option for bettors.

In 2022, commercial operators FanDuel and DraftKings funded a ballot initiative effort to allow commercial operators to offer Florida gambling. However, the tribe funded a media campaign generating support to vote “no” on the issue. The tribe’s efforts were successful and the issue never reached the ballot.

It’s possible commercial operators try the same thing again. But if they don’t, Hard Rock will remain the only Florida online gambling option.

The Florida Lottery does not currently offer any possibilities for online play. You can only purchase lottery tickets at one of the more than 13,000 Florida Lottery retail locations.

If you do decide to play the Florida Lottery, you’ll discover plenty of different games to play. Multi-state draw games like Powerball and Mega Millions are available, along with more homegrown options like Florida Lotto and the Grouper. The Lottery also offers a variety of different instant-win scratchers to play, so even though you must participate in person, you are never short on opportunities to play the lottery.

There are various live horse racing options around the state. Of the five racetracks in Florida, the best known is Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. The venerable track is the most popular of the five and hosts the Florida Derby and the Pegasus World Cup each year.

In addition to the five tracks, there are more than a dozen off-track betting locations scattered throughout the state. Many of these venues double as racinos, too, and offer the opportunity to play games beyond horse betting, like poker or betting on jai alai. Florida law allows its residents to place bets on horse races online as well on sites like TVG.

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) remain in a state of uneasy approval for Florida gambling. While there is no law specifically on the books about DFS, officials have stated that at least some of the games might not be in compliance with state law.

As it stands, Floridians can currently take part in DFS contests on several of the top sites, including DraftKings and FanDuel. For the moment, it appears likely that will remain the case for the foreseeable future.