Florida’s gambling laws are regulated and all legal gambling includes casino gaming, tribal gambling, casino boats, horse racing, dog racing, Bingo, the state lottery, and charitable gambling. The casino boats are interesting because they allow bettors to board luxury boats that travel offshore where gambling is technically not illegal. The debate over legalized sports betting in Florida will kick into high gear next week with the start of the 60-day legislative session. A key question facing lawmakers is whether last year's. Florida may be home to a number of great tribal casinos, but for the time being there is still no legal Florida sports betting.For this reason, instead of using this guide to recommend the best Florida legal online sportsbook, we’ve focused on the current state of gambling laws in Florida.

• No, sports betting in Florida is not legal at this time. Sports betting in Florida Sports betting does not sound close to becoming a reality anytime soon, as there are a number of factors working.
• Currently, Florida online sports betting is not available. This means that you can’t find Florida online sportsbooks (or online casinos) legally operating in this state. However, things could change in the future, as there has been recent developments as sports betting talks have begun with the Seminoles.

• Florida lawmakers are set to present a new bill that would regulate sports betting in the Sunshine State.
• Florida failed to pass a legal sports betting bill earlier in 2020.
• Lawmakers are looking to use the added sports betting funds to fund education.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sports bettors in Florida could possibly find domestic sports betting hit the Sunshine State should the state’s legislative session in March bear fruit of a new sports betting bill.

Lawmakers are optimistic about the pre-filed bill, even though Florida has consistently failed to pass any bill that would bring legal sports betting, including just recently a failed attempt in early 2021.

The new bill, however, hopes to convince legislators by presenting the economic boost from sports betting Florida could be gaining. Florida’s economy took major losses in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting the state down for months.

Florida Sports Betting

Although history has shown a reluctance for a regulated sports betting market, Florida sports bettors should still view this new bill as a good sign for the future.

The new sports betting bill, SB 392, is being backed by Senator Jeff Brandes, who is a member of the Republican Party. Brandes’s ties to his party could work to convince other Senators and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to move forward with the bill.

Should the bill be passed, not only will retail sportsbooks be operational in Florida, but the bill also includes the launching of online and mobile betting as well.

While the most recent sports betting bill failed to be voted into law at the 2020 legislative session, many things have happened since then that could sway voters this time around.

The main event was the global pandemic that shut down the nation. Florida in particular has suffered from the most cases in the nation.

Lawmakers could use the pandemic and the economic loss to convince voters that added revenue from sports betting is a necessity at this point.

Many other states have managed to cover some of the losses gained from COVID-19 shutdowns with the boom in revenue coming from sports betting.

Sports Gambling Laws In Florida

Should Florida lawmakers look at sports betting from a strictly financial scenario, then a vote of approval could be a reality.

Sports bettors will have to wait until March to see the fate of the new bill.

Is Online Sports Gambling Legal In Florida

News tags: FL Florida Legislative Revenue Ron DeSantis SB 392 sports betting Tallahassee

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After a failed legal sports betting attempt in 2020, Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes has introduced a new bill that could give Florida legal sports betting in 2021. The main motivation for Florida to legalize sports betting is tax revenue. The proposed bill would net the state 15% of all revenue and charge each sportsbook a $100,000 licensing fee.

Challenges Facing Florida Sports Betting

Should sports betting clear, it would give Florida much-needed tax revenue. The economy has taken a major hit due to COVID-19 which has increased the need for alternate revenue streams.

Senator Jeff Brandes is a Republican which is the same political party as Governor DeSantis. Theoretically, the relationship between the two in the same party could see that the bill is passed.

Online Gambling Legal Florida

However, the bill is conveniently missing a critical piece of legislation in Florida. The Seminole Tribe of Florida is not mentioned at all in the bill that is attempting to legalize sports betting. In order for this bill to pass, there will need to be some clarification on where the Seminole Tribe fits into legalized sports betting. Currently, they have gambling exclusivity in Florida.

It would appear unlikely that they would give up exclusive rights to gambling in the state. Thus, the state and tribe would need to work together to make this a reality.

Legal Sports Betting Cannot Happen Without The Seminole Tribe of Florida

The active bill from Senator Brandes is currently scheduled to reach committee status in March. Should it move past the committee, there would be legitimate optimism about the sports betting opportunity in Florida.

The caveat to this argument from Senator Brandes is that he attempted to pass a similar bill earlier in 2020. At this time, the bill does not include any language related to the monopoly that the Seminole Tribe has on gambling. Should the bill continue to the committee stage, there will need to be discussions with the Seminole Tribe to work together. They will not be left off from this bill so there is a ton of work to do on that end.

Recent Optimism For Florida Sports Bettors

Thankfully, there is some reason for optimism for sports betting in Florida. Hard Rock International recently launched a digital gaming platform in conjunction with the Seminole Tribe. The willingness to work with Hard Rock is a major step forward for the state. With this, it shows that Hard Rock believes that Florida could legalize sports betting sooner rather than later.

The next steps for 2021 sports betting in Florida will be key. First, sports betting will need to move to the committee stage and get through it rather quickly. If the bill were to pass the committee, the bill would hit state legislative bodies. Governor DeSantis would then have the opportunity to sign the bill into law and rules would be ratified.

The absolute best-case scenario for Florida would be sports betting in Q4 2021, which is still ambitious. The Seminole Tribe still holds the keys to everything gambling-related in the state. The tribe’s views will be important to monitor as the revenue-hungry state continues to move forward.