When is Sports Betting Coming to Florida?
By Space Coast Daily // February 18, 2021
The United States has seen a rapid increase in the number of states legalizing sports betting. Following the Supreme Court victory in May 2018, the legalisation of sports betting in the country now sits in the hands of each state.
Sports betting has long existed in Nevada but it is no longer the only state in the country to offer a legalized form of sports gambling.
Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island are just some of the states to welcome legal sports betting following the verdict by the Supreme Court. However, there are still many states where this is yet to happen, with Florida being a good example. When is sports betting coming to Florida?
At the time of writing, Florida does not offer any state-regulated sportsbooks to residents. Yes, it is possible to place online sports bets using offshore sportsbooks but this is extremely risky and you are advised to avoid this at all costs.
However, we remain hopeful that in the near future there will be making the selection of websites similar to www.betting24.se, where it will be possible to read reviews of all the legal sportsbooks available in the Sunshine State.
There have already been a few attempts at legalizing sports betting in Florida and one of the more recent comes courtesy of Sen. Jeff Brandes. He has filed SB 392, to authorize sports betting in Florida regulated by the Florida Lottery plus SB 394 and SB 396, in relation to the sports betting revenue tax, which would be set at 15% in addition to license fees at $100,000.
However, as a word of caution to those who are hopeful this will see the introduction of sports betting to Florida, it is not the first time Brandes has submitted this information. In fact, he submitted almost identical documentation over a year ago and it failed. One of the main reasons why it failed is due to the Seminole Tribe and their lack of involvement in the legislation.
The Seminoles own the Hard Rock casino corporation and believe they have exclusivity over sports betting in Florida. In a further complication, following the failed deal in 2019, the Seminoles announced they would not make their annual payment of approximately $330 million to the state in 2020 based on their gaming revenue.
It was thought this would lead to the state of Florida acting quickly to introduce some form of legalized sports betting but it has yet to come to fruition.
That is not to say we will never see the introduction of sports betting in Florida and online sports betting, in particular, could be just around the corner. The earliest we could expect to see the introduction of sports betting in the Sunshine State is now 2022 but that could include the option to wager online using mobile sports betting apps in Florida.
This would give residents the opportunity to bet on their favorite teams including Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Miami Dolphins, Florida Gators, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to name but a few.
