Since the repeal of PASPA by the SCOTUS in 2018, Florida has been the target of domestic sports betting operators that are salivating to capture some of the massive stockpiles of revenue that regional gamblers and tourists could potentially provide.
Those vendors will have to hold their horses as Sunshine State lawmakers have passed a new resolution to allow for legal sports betting in Florida at Tribal casinos, racetracks, and poker rooms.
Political experts have long expected a standoff between legislators and the state’s Tribal gaming interests over who will be the benefactors in the state of Florida when it comes to sports betting.
In fact, even with the herculean progress being made in the state’s House and Senate, whether or not the Tribes were willing to play ball was expected to hold up progress.
This is great news for Florida gamblers that are looking to legally bet on sports in Tampa, or are hot after sportsbook options in Miami, because the Seminole Hard Rock Casino features venues near both of these major NFL hubs.
The same cannot be said for Jacksonville, but there are plenty of nearby racetracks and poker rooms that allow for legal betting on the NFL, whether it be on the Jaguars, or any other major professional or college sports team.
The new Tribal gaming compact features provisions where profits that are earned by regional cardrooms will be split among Native American gambling interests inside of Florida, thus proving that lawmakers were willing to completely bend over backward in order to usher in FL sportsbook operations.
To further illustrate the position that the Seminole Tribe of Florida currently holds, they were also granted allowances to include roulette and craps among their real money casino games. This had been a major bone of contention for the Tribe, and had likely caused for other in-state gambling avenues to remain on the backburner.
Most states in the USA that have legalized domestic sports betting have done so to thwart offshore sportsbook sites and their ability to suck taxable dollars into international coffers.
Florida has done nothing to offer an option for sports gamblers that prefer to bet online, and with in-person locations being inconvenient to some citizens, international sportsbook sites will remain unrivalled until at least another calendar year.
Also, these offshore sports betting sites do not feature the limitations that domestic books do, and accept wagers on political election odds, eSports betting, and other non-traditional gambling options that are rising in popularity.
The same can be said for mobile betting apps. There is no inclusion of allowances for mobile sportsbooks to exist, once again tipping the scales toward international operators and their convenient web-based gambling applications that can access the hottest betting lines on the planet in seconds.
Ultimately, this is a win for the state of Florida, as the high number of tourists that are looking for action, as well as regional gamblers that are looking for odds on their favorite professional teams, will now have additional venues to legally bet on sports in the Sunshine State.
Source: Miami Herald
