Florida, the land of sunshine, theme parks, beaches, Disneyland, beautiful scenery, and now home to online wagering! In this Ultimate sports betting guide, we will talk about the law surrounding online sports gambling, the history of gambling in Florida, how to wager, and the future of sports betting in Florida.
Is Sports Betting Legal in Florida?
There has been a great deal of talk about sports betting in Florida, and for good reason: it is legal. Although Sports betting provision within Florida Jurisdiction is officially deemed to be legal, there does not seem to be any significant law that states you cannot bet on sports with offshore providers from Florida. The Sunshine State is in a dilemma, and sports gambling is at the core of it. Despite this, there are several Florida gambling sites with which you will be able to place wagers both in-person and online. This is why upcoming iGamers should always take a look at a reliable list of the best Florida sportsbooks, to get more information on the differences between them and see which provider would be most advantageous to use.
The Confusing Story With Recent Law Changes
The short success story of online sports betting, lasted one month. So let’s dive into what happened on December 4th and why the state decided to close down the only Online wagering app available in the state. According to Dan Wallach a sports betting lawyer he was shocked the agreement was forged, to begin with, to paraphrase the decision to shut the operation down was a no-brainer “It’s obvious to any law school student if you divorce the political realities going on here, that 100 out of 100 times, they’d call what was done illegal,”.
This so-called groundbreaking deal promised by Florida officials and the Seminole Tribe wasn’t as revolutionary as they thought.
Although the people of Florida can no longer use the hard rock sportsbook app, all wagers played before 11 am EST on December the 4th will still be viable and settled.
What it Brought to Florida Resident / What to Expect Once it’s Legal
The Hard Rock Sportsbook app brought quite a bit of new tech in regard to online betting. Players not only could wager with ease from anywhere in the state of Florida, but also deposit money in their account, check other pastime games/current bets. It also brought the advantage of being able to register without the need to go in person.
Although not revolutionary it’s definitely a start, especially when compared with other states that require in-person registrations and deposits. So what can we expect to see once the ball gets rolling? One can expect all features currently mentioned, the only issue seems to be competitive pricing, with little to no competition a monopoly is inevitable.
History of Florida’s Gambling
Florida’s history is a wild one, resembling a rollercoaster from the many theme parks they offer with laws and regulations constantly being reviewed/updated.
The first legislation came about in 1931 which allowed wagers to take place on horse and dog racing. Soon to follow were slots in 1935 but it was not to be as in 1937 it was repealed. Fast track into the 1970’s small stakes in bingo was legalized. With some other changes regarding poker.
Online gambling is still illegal. Even in casinos, online gambling is deemed against the law.
When and if it is to be legalized all operations are to be supervised by a new commission the Florida Gaming Control Commission.
How to Play Online in Florida 2021
Since it’s actually still illegal in Florida, local residents will have to stick to local casinos or use offshore sport betting sites. Unfortunately, Online gaming seems to be stuck in the mud.
If that doesn’t dishearten your attempts to bet we have a solution. So what can the people of Florida do to place wagers on their favorite teams and athletes, the answer is offshore gaming sites. One must be wary when choosing offshore gaming, primarily players should make sure they have good online support in case of any issues they might encounter when playing. What about when it’s legal. Step 1 After choosing your desired sportsbook is to sign up and verify your account.
Fill in all the information needed which includes full legal name, home address, email, phone number, and date of birth. Step 2, it’s time to deposit the funds you would like to wager into your account. Step 3 and the final step, make sure you’re in the state of Florida or the next steps will not work. On that note, now you can scroll through your desired sportsbook, once you have found the game you would like to wager on, head to your bet slip, decide the type of bet you would like to place, enter the amount and submit.
The Future
The sport betting future in Florida looks promising. With constant back and forths due to confronting regulations, state laws, and more political blockage, it’s hard to say when exactly we will see the likes of the Hard Rock SportsBook App or similar sites come to the state of Florida. The first challenge would be getting over the HardRock monopoly which they have over the state. With several legal challenges still to cross, one can hope that by 2022 we will start to see changes.
