Florida Online Gambling
Florida offers numerous online gambling options, despite only actively regulating online sports betting.
Real-money online casinos remain prohibited in Florida, but sweepstakes casinos offer a very similar alternative. Other forms of online gambling in Florida include sports betting via Hard Rock Bet, daily fantasy sports, fantasy pick‘em contests, and pari-mutuel horse racing wagering.
Read on to learn more about which forms of online gambling are legal, which options are available but unregulated, and other key information you need to know to gamble online in Florida safely and legally.
Legal Florida Gambling Sites
21+ and present in Florida. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-888-ADMIT-IT.
Florida Online Gambling Overview
| Type of Gambling (Minimum age to play) | Legal Status | Notes |
| Online Casinos (n/a) | Illegal | Prohibited under current state law |
| Sweepstakes Casinos (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | Technically legal; faces increasing legal scrutiny |
| Online Sports Betting (21+) | Legal/Regulated | Only available via Hard Rock Bet under Seminole Compact |
| Daily Fantasy Sports (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | Considered skill-based; no specific state regulation |
| Fantasy Pick’em Contests (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | Permitted similarly to DFS; player-vs-house contests prohibited |
| Online Lottery Sales (n/a) | Illegal | FL Lottery does not offer online sales; third party lottery couriers prohibited |
| Online Horse Racing (18+) | Legal/Unregulated | Legally accessible; state has not formally authorized or regulated ADWs |
Florida Online Casinos
Online casinos are illegal in Florida.
Unlike sports betting or sweepstakes gambling sites, which have found legal pathways, real-money online casinos face multiple legal and political hurdles.
Specifically, the Florida Constitution and the state’s longstanding gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe preclude online casinos from gaining a legal foothold anytime soon unless the tribe itself leads such efforts.
Why Florida Online Casinos Remain Illegal
Florida law prohibits online casino gambling outside of tribal compacts. Furthermore, the Florida Constitution, as amended by voters in 2018, requires any new casino-style gambling to receive voter approval in a statewide referendum.
In other words, lawmakers cannot unilaterally legalize online casinos in Florida, even if there’s industry or public demand.
Even before taking the Seminole gaming compact into consideration, Florida is one of the most challenging states for online casino expansion due to its high threshold for change.
The Seminole gaming compact adds yet another layer of difficulty to legalizing online casinos in Florida.
Under the Florida-Seminole gaming compact, the tribe has the exclusive right to operate most casino-style gaming in the state. Any attempt to authorize non-tribal online casinos could violate the gaming compact and jeopardize the estimated $750 million per year that Florida receives in revenue-sharing payments from the Seminoles.
Legalization Efforts
There have been attempts to introduce online casino legislation in Florida, but none have advanced beyond the proposal stage. Ballot initiatives to put online gambling in front of voters have also failed to gather enough support.
Efforts have been further complicated by the Seminoles’ powerful lobbying presence and the reluctance of lawmakers to disrupt a profitable and politically delicate agreement.
Will the Seminoles Lead an Online Gambling Push in Florida?
The Seminole Tribe has consistently demonstrated an interest in expanding its online gambling offerings beyond sports betting.
First, the very structure of the Seminole Tribe’s gaming compact with Florida indicates its interest in online casinos. An initial draft of the gaming compact included language specifically ordering the state and tribe to negotiate amending the compact to authorize online casino gambling within 36 months.
Although the language was removed during the compact’s legislative review, it indicated the Seminole Tribe’s interest in expanding online gambling in Florida.
Additionally, the hub-and-spoke model implemented by the compact established a potential legal framework for authorizing online casinos in Florida.
Second, the Seminole Tribe’s ownership of Hard Rock Digital, which operates online casinos in other regulated states, demonstrates the tribe’s interest, experience, and technological capability in online gambling.
Sweepstakes Casinos as a Legal Alternative
Mainstream sweepstakes gambling apps like WOW Vegas, Stake.us, and High 5 Casino are easily accessible alternatives to online casinos in Florida.
Unlike traditional online casinos, sweepstakes casinos operate by adhering to sweepstakes and promotional laws, not conventional gambling regulations. The key to their legality is that sweepstakes casinos offer methods for players to participate with “no purchase necessary.”
This allows them to legally offer a variety of popular casino-style games, including:
- Slots
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Other table games
- Live dealer games
- Scratchcards
- Bingo
Florida Sweepstakes Casinos Face Increasing Scrutiny
Although sweepstakes casinos are technically legal in Florida, they face increasing scrutiny from regulators, lawmakers, and the Seminole Tribe, which is protective of its exclusive right to offer various casino-style games.
Florida lawmakers considered two bills (SB 1404 and HB 953) that explicitly targeted sweepstakes casinos in 2025. Had the bills passed, they would have outright banned sweepstakes casinos in Florida.
For example, SB 1404 would have redefined “internet gambling” to include any game that “simulates casino-style gaming, including, but not limited to, slot machines, video poker, and table games.”
The bills failed to pass due to:
- Withering opposition from industry trade groups like the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA)
- Concerns over the unintended consequences of restricting an everyday promotional activity
- Legislative obstacles, including amendments added during the committee phase that contributed to each bill’s eventual withdrawal
However, the Seminole Tribe remains a formidable threat to Florida sweepstakes casinos due to their compact with the state. The compact gives the Seminoles monopolistic rights over most forms of casino-style gambling and online sports betting within the state.
There are numerous indicators that the Seminoles would like to offer online gambling in Florida, so they have a strong incentive to eliminate any competition, including sweepstakes casinos.
The tribe has considerable influence in the Florida legislature due to the gaming compact and revenue payments, which could be impacted by any impingement on its exclusive right to offer casino-style games.
Florida Online Sports Betting
Hard Rock Bet is the only sportsbook brand authorized to offer online sports betting in Florida.
The Seminole Tribe operates Hard Rock Bet under its interactive sports wagering division, Hard Rock Digital. Florida’s gaming compact with the Seminoles grants the tribe a monopoly over online sports betting, which limits consumer choice but provides firm legal footing and establishes consumer protection requirements.
About Hard Rock Bet Florida
Hard Rock Bet is Florida’s only legal online sportsbook, but it remains competitive due to the tribe’s operations in other states where it doesn’t have a monopoly.
The Hard Rock Bet Florida app offers a comprehensive range of betting markets, encompassing all major US sports leagues, college sports, and international events.
Betting options and features include moneylines, point spreads, totals, parlays, same-game parlays, flex parlays, and live in-game betting. Bettors can also take advantage of the Hard Rock Loyalty Rewards program to earn points redeemable for various benefits in person and at Hard Rock properties.
Legal Requirements
Florida law requires users to be at least 21 years old and physically located within state lines to bet on sports online. The Hard Rock Bet app uses geolocation technology to ensure compliance and blocks users located outside the state, even if they use location-masking tools like VPNs.
Consumer Protections
Florida online sports betting law requires Hard Rock Bet to implement various consumer protection measures, including:
- Age and identity verification systems to prevent underage gambling and fraud
- Responsible gambling tools for users to set custom deposit limits, wagering limits, and time limits
- Optional self-exclusion tools for users to take breaks from gambling, ranging from a few days to permanent
How Florida Legalized Online Sports Betting
Florida’s path to legal sports betting began in 2021, when lawmakers approved an amended gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe.
The amended compact included language authorizing the tribe to offer online sports betting, with bets technically considered to occur on tribal land where the servers are located.
Hard Rock Bet launched online sports betting in Florida near the end of 2021. The development prompted immediate legal challenges from opponents who argued that the amended gaming compact violated federal law and the state constitution.
Courts initially blocked the compact’s implementation, leading to Hard Rock Bet ceasing its Florida operations less than a month after its launch.
However, the compact was eventually upheld after federal approval and a DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision cleared the way for implementation.
Hard Rock Bet Florida resumed operations in late 2023 and remains the state’s only authorized online sportsbook.
Florida Daily Fantasy Sports
Florida fantasy sports fans have access to a broad range of DFS apps and websites.
Legal options include the well-established salary cap style contests and fantasy pick’em games, which typically involve predicting whether an athlete will go over or under a projected statistic (e.g., “will the QB throw for more than or fewer than 250 yards on Sunday?”)
The most prominent DFS brands in Florida include industry giants DraftKings and FanDuel. Both platforms continue to offer their traditional salary cap contests, where users build rosters of athletes and compete against other users.
Other popular apps that have gained a significant foothold in Florida include PrizePicks, ParlayPlay, and Boom Fantasy, which specialize in more/less predictions.
Legal Status
From a legal standpoint, traditional DFS contests are considered a game of skill and operate in a legal gray area in Florida because there is no specific law explicitly authorizing or prohibiting them.
As a result, major operators like DraftKings and FanDuel have offered salary cap games in Florida for years.
Fantasy pick’em apps operate under similar legal circumstances but have faced pushback from regulators due to their resemblance to full-fledged sports wagering.
In 2023, the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) asserted its authority over paid fantasy sports contests, leading to significant developments in how fantasy pick’em apps operate within the state.
Fantasy Pick’em Apps in Florida
The legal status of Florida fantasy pick’em apps became a focal point of regulatory action in 2023.
In late 2023, the FGCC sent cease-and-desist letters to several fantasy pick’em operators, including Underdog Fantasy, PrizePicks, and Betr. The FGCC contended that these “against the house” style pick’em games constituted illegal sports wagering under Florida law.
In response, all major fantasy pick’em apps ceased their against-the-house contests in early 2024. However, companies like PrizePicks and Boom Fantasy returned to the market after developing a new, peer-to-peer format for their pick’em contests.
Under the revised model, users compete against one another in groups rather than against the operator, a change designed to comply more closely with Florida’s view of skill-based contests.
The FGCC has not issued public statements addressing peer-to-peer pick’em contests since then, but it is seemingly comfortable with the concept for now because all major fantasy pick’em apps operate openly in Florida without pushback from regulators.
The Seminole Tribe has voiced strong opposition to against-the-house pick’em contests, but it hasn’t yet commented on the updated peer-to-peer variant.
However, even the updated model faces significant legal threats. Florida lawmakers have considered legislation that would prohibit fantasy sports contests based on the performances of individual athletes in singular events.
The Seminole Tribe also remains a significant threat. Fantasy pick’em apps are direct competitors to the tribe’s Hard Rock Bet app, so the Seminoles have an incentive to continue to urge lawmakers to crack down on pick’em-style apps.
Florida Online Lottery Sales
The Florida Lottery does not offer online ticket sales. Officials have explicitly stated that players cannot buy Florida Lottery tickets online or via mail.
Players may only buy official Florida Lottery tickets in person from authorized retailers.
Third-party lottery courier services are also prohibited in Florida. TheLotter, a well-known lottery courier, announced its Florida launch in mid-2024, but Florida Lottery officials quickly shut it down.
Other lottery couriers, such as Jackpocket and Jackpot.com, are active in different states but do not serve Florida customers.
Online Horse Racing Betting in Florida
Florida law does not explicitly address online horse racing betting, but residents may bet on horse races through advance deposit wagering platforms (ADWs).
The state has never passed legislation to officially authorize or regulate online horse racing betting, primarily due to concerns over how that might affect Florida’s revenue-sharing agreement with the Seminole Tribe, which holds exclusive rights over numerous forms of gambling in Florida.
Lawmakers occasionally revisit the idea of regulating online horse racing betting in Florida, but their proposals have never gained much momentum. Many legislators are hesitant to make any moves that could jeopardize the compact with the Seminoles, especially given its financial importance to the state.
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Florida Gambling Regulators
A combination of state and tribal agencies regulates in-person and online gambling in Florida:
- Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC): The primary state regulatory body responsible for overseeing all authorized Florida gambling activities except the lottery. Its areas of responsibility include pari-mutuel wagering, cardrooms, slot machine facilities in designated counties, and oversight of tribal gaming compacts.
- Seminole Tribal Gaming Commission (STGC): Oversees all Seminole tribal gambling activities, including Hard Rock Bet and Class III casinos in Florida. The STGC ensures compliance with the tribal-state gaming compact, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), and its own tribal gaming ordinances.
- Florida Lottery Division of Security: The Florida Lottery is responsible for administering and overseeing its lottery games, authorized retailers, and ensuring compliance with all relevant state and federal laws.
Responsible Gambling Resources in Florida
Numerous responsible gambling tools and support services are available in Florida, but most resources are operated through third-party organizations and tribal or operator-specific programs.
Florida lacks a central self-exclusion program that covers all forms of gambling statewide. However, tribal casinos, pari-mutuel facilities, and most online operators maintain individual voluntary self-exclusion programs.
Florida Self-Exclusion Resources
- Hard Rock Bet Self-Exclusion: Users can set custom deposit, wagering, and time limits or voluntarily self-exclude from the platform. Customers can access these tools via their account settings or customer support.
- Advance Deposit Wagering Platforms (ADWs): Legal horse racing betting sites like TVG and TwinSpires offer custom responsible gambling tools and self-exclusion programs.
- Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling – Self Exclusion: Offers self-exclusion assistance for users to self-exclude from gaming facilities, tribal casinos, online gambling platforms, and even illegal offshore operators.
Florida Responsible Gambling Organizations
- Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling (FGCC): Offers 24/7 support, prevention programs, and referrals to local treatment providers. Helpline: Call or text 1-888-ADMIT-IT (236-4848). Live chat is available.
- National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG): National helpline: Call 1-800-GAMBLER, text 800GAM, or chat at 1800gamblerchat.org.
- SAMHSA’s National Helpline: Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for confidential 24/7 treatment referral and information services.