Sports betting is coming to Florida Seminole casinos in December. Here's where and what is legal
Anyone have 31 months in the pool? That's how long it took for sports betting to finally come to Florida after the Seminole Tribe and the state agreed on a compact in 2021 to allow a major expansion of gambling in the Sunshine State.
That was followed by years of legal back-and-forths as two pari-mutuel companies filed lawsuits to block the expansion, arguing that the compact “enables an extreme shift in public policy on legalized gaming that, once started, may be difficult to stop” and violates the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act because the online-sports-betting part authorized gambling off of tribal lands.
But a three-judge panel and a Washington, D.C.-based appeals court ruled the compact did not violate federal laws, and on Oct. 25 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh in. Seminole Tribe leaders announced they would be rolling out sports betting at their casinos in December.
Here's what's changed.
Is sports betting legal in Florida? Can I bet on the Super Bowl in Florida?
It will be. Sports betting is becoming legal at all six Seminole-Tribe-run casinos in Florida.
The compact also allows sports betting statewide through a Seminole Tribes app, but the tribe is moving forward slowly with just onsite betting for now. A lawsuit challenging broader online sports betting remains pending at the Florida Supreme Court.
When will sports betting begin at the Florida Seminole casinos?
South Florida/Miami, Thursday, December 7: The Seminoles will start offering sports betting, craps and roulette at the tribe’s three South Florida casinos on Thursday, Dec. 7, the release said: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood and Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.
Tampa, Friday, December 8: The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa will launch the games on Friday, Dec. 8.
Southwest Florida/Naples, Monday, December 11: Seminole Casino Immokalee, near Naples, and Seminole Brighton Casino, on the northwest side of Lake Okeechobee, will follow on Monday, Dec. 11.
What forms of gambling are currently legal in Florida?
Broadly speaking, Florida currently allows:
Sports gambling at Seminole-Tribe-run casinos
Some pari-mutuel gambling, including horse racing and cardrooms licensed by the state
Casino gambling on lands belonging to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida
State-run lotteries and interstate games such as the Powerball and Mega Millions
Bingo, raffles and drawings of chance if run by a “charitable, nonprofit, or veterans’ organization”
Small social games
What is pari-mutuel gambling?
Pari-mutuel gambling is a system where all bets are put together in a pool, the "house" takes a cut, and the final payout isn't determined until the betting is closed and payoff odds are calculated. Pari-mutuel betting is used for jai alai, horse racing, and sporting events when participants finish in a ranked order.
What is jai alai?
Jai alai is a fast-paced game that originated in the Basque region of Spain and thrived in Florida after the first professional fronton (stadium) opened in Miami in the 1920s. The sport is played with two teams of two players, each with elongated, curved, handheld baskets (cestas), who catch and hurl a small, hard ball (pelota) in one continuous motion to whip across the fronton and bounce off three walls and the floor. Imagine four-person handball that's been weaponized.
Since one of the ways to lose points is to hold the ball, the game never stops moving and jai alai pelotas easily reach speeds over 100 mph, making the game exciting to watch and occasionally dangerous to play. The sport once held the world record for ball speed with one reaching 188 mph.
Jai alai – and betting on jai alai – was extremely popular in Florida up through the ’80s but interest waned when tribal casinos and other forms of gambling became popular. The Florida Legislature, in a bid to prop up the sport, passed HB 1059 to allow poker games (cardrooms) in pari-mutuel facilities such as jai alai frontons and horse and greyhound racing tracks, which helped the locations stay afloat but didn't help the sport. There is now only one jai alai fronton open in the state, at the Magic City Casino in Miami.
Is horse racing legal in Florida?
Yes. Off-track and inter-track betting on thoroughbred racing, quarter horse racing, or harness racing is allowed, but only if you place your bets onsite.
Is greyhound racing legal in Florida?
No. Greyhound racing ended when a statewide referendum passed in 2018 that banned the sport as of Jan. 1, 2021.
What is a cardroom?
A cardroom is a licensed, pari-mutuel facility where Florida allows games of poker (and dominoes) to be played for money.
The state does not consider this casino gambling, according to the statutes, because "the participants play against each other instead of against the house."
Cardrooms can be found at tribal casinos and racetracks. Several are in former racetracks where greyhounds were raced before that practice was banned. Others are in former jai alai frontons. Some prestigious poker tournaments are held in Florida alongside regular cash games. Online poker is not permitted.
Are slot machines illegal in Florida?
Very much so.
As of July 1 last year, slot machines or anything resembling them became illegal in Florida except for 15 approved casinos mostly under tribal control. Law enforcement has been conducting statewide crackdowns on adult arcades offering them.
Not only are slot machines illegal elsewhere, you are not permitted to own one or even part of one.
Where are the approved slot machines in Florida?
Hard Rock Tampa
Seminole Casino Brighton
Seminole Casino Immokalee
Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood
Hard Rock Hollywood
Miccosukee Casino & Resort, Miami
Harrahs Pompano Beach
The Casino at Dania Beach
The Big Easy Casino, Hallandale Beach
Gulfstream Park Racing, Hallandale Beach
Calder Casino, Miami Gardens
Hialeah Park Casino
Casino Miami
Magic City Casino, Miami
Can my friends and I play cards for money in Florida?
Yes, as long as you keep the pot small.
Gambling for big bucks in games of chance at unlicensed locations, such as your kitchen table, are a second-degree misdemeanor. But the state does allow penny-ante games. Penny-ante games are defined as "a game or series of games of poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, or mah-jongg in which the winnings of any player in a single round, hand, or game do not exceed $10 in value."
Also, the person running the game can't charge for it and the game must be held in a home owned or rented by one of the players, or the common recreational area of a college dormitory or a publicly owned center.
Is my church's bingo game legal?
It is! With a boatload of restrictions on who can do it, where they can do it, how the game is played and even what the cards have to look like.
Florida permits bingo games where you pay to play and win a prize, but they must be held by "charitable, nonprofit, or veterans’ organizations engaged in charitable, civic, community, benevolent, religious, or scholastic works or other similar endeavors" and those organizations must have been in existence for three years or more. Also, all proceeds after business expenses must be donated to the endeavors listed above.
Raffles are also legal, with many of the same restrictions.
What is the legal age for gambling in Florida?
The minimum gambling age is 21 for casino games and 18 for lottery games, poker, bingo, and pari-mutuel betting such as horse racing and jai alai.
Are internet cafes legal in Florida?
Sort of, if you can still find one. Florida permits sweepstakes, and internet cafes advertise themselves as essentially sweepstakes parlors that offer game "promotions." This allows them to try to work around the state's definition of "games of chance," often comparing their electronic games to something closer to McDonald's Monopoly game.
But a 2013 law banned them from using slot-machine-like computer games, the 2021 law banned slot machines entirely, and they're not permitted to offer cash or gift-card prizes, so many have closed down and the ones remaining keep getting shut down by authorities. Many local governments have banned them due to the high rates of illegal activity and crime that often happen in and around them.
Are arcades legal in Florida?
That depends on what games they offer. Arcades that offer video or physical games of skill that allow you to win tokens or tickets to be exchanged for prizes are covered by Florida's Family Amusement Games Act, so heading out to Chuck E. Cheese or Dave & Buster's is fine.
But if the game includes a randomized element, such as a random chance as to which prize you can win — even if the outcome relies on skill — it's considered a game of chance and is illegal under the regulations against slot machines.
Are casino cruises legal in Florida?
Not in or near Florida, no. But since the 1980s cruise ships operating out of Florida ports have taken people three miles out into international waters to gamble. These cruise ships may not be out overnight, or they run afoul of federal laws against "gambling ships."
Victory Casino Cruises, which sails out of Port Canaveral, offers slots, blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, poker, bingo and sports betting.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida Seminole casinos to offer sports betting, craps, roulette
