Florida Casinos

Florida was a pioneer in several forms of gambling in the South. It was the first to legalize horse and greyhound racing. Its state lottery was the first in the region. Florida casinos were launched third in the southeast, only after Mississippi and Louisiana. It is the only state in the South with card clubs.

Florida gambling has always been a hotly debated subject. Referendums related to gambling expansion failed time and time again from the Great Depression era until a lottery passed in 1986. A poker referendum only passed in one county in 1994 before receiving more widespread support two years later. These days, Florida is known as one of the healthiest poker markets in the world. There are also over thirty Florida casinos, with plenty of other poker rooms and Indian casinos.

Types of Online Florida Gambling Allowed

The only form of legal Florida online gambling is off-track betting on horses and greyhounds. Sites like TVG and TwinSpires accept this action.

Daily fantasy sports sites claim exemption under Florida’s skill gaming law. This opinion is debatable. A 1991 opinion from then-Attorney General Robert Butterworth declared fantasy sports to be illegal in Florida. A federal grand jury is hearing evidence about whether the activity is legal in the state.

The Florida Legislature banned sweepstakes cafes that use the Internet to award prizes in 2013. This forced subscription poker sites out of the state. Any online gambling site outside of the racing industry is unlicensed and most likely illegal in Florida.

Types of Live Florida Gambling

Popular Games

• Slots: Yes
• Blackjack: Yes
• Poker: Yes
• Craps/Roulette: No
• Horses: Yes
• Lottery: Yes

Florida gambling offers a wide variety of options. Florida is one if just six states left where greyhound tracks operate. Horseracing is also legal under the same statute. Tracks may operate race books on simulcasts. Jai Alai is also legal, although its popularity deteriorated with the legalization of other forms of gambling. Florida racetracks may offer live poker and card games.

There is a Florida Lottery that operates within the state. It sells scratch-off tickets and lotto entries.

The Seminole Tribe offers seven casinos in Florida. Its gaming pact permits a monopoly on blackjack and similar house-banked games. Slots and video poker are also spread at these Seminole Florida casinos. These are operated under the Hard Rock brand in major cities.

Dade and Broward Counties have an unusual setup. These two counties may offer slots, video poker and electronic table games.

Florida Gambling Laws

While it is a gaming-friendly state, Florida gambling laws are strict and have many anti-gambling statutes on the books. These parts of the codified law remain in effect even as Florida gambling policy is liberal. Many of the anti-gambling aspects of the law pertain to masquerading charitable gaming as commercial. For instance, bingo must have a prize pool no higher than $100. It also forbids several forms of Florida online gambling, including daily fantasy sports, according to a previous attorney general opinion. This has not kept sites like FanDuel and DraftKings out of the state.

The main gaming attraction are the Florida casinos owned by the Seminole Tribe. This is where gamblers will find slots, video poker, blackjack, baccarat, and other house-banked card games. The Seminoles hope to expand that to craps and roulette in the next gaming compact. Those games are currently illegal in Florida at any venue except cruise ships that do not open tables until in international waters.

Horse and greyhound racing is the oldest form of Florida gambling. These establishments hit hard times when racing fell out of popularity. Florida permits tracks to operate card clubs. While there were once bet limits in Florida, those are no longer in effect. True no limit games are legal at all card clubs and casinos.

The Seminoles have an exclusivity agreement with the state on house-banked card games, but are currently in dispute. The tribe guaranteed $1 billion to the state. The tax rate is 12% for a net win up to $2 billion. It goes up to 15% for income between $2 billion and $3 billion. This is the highest Seminole table game revenue has ever achieved. Tax rates go up 2.5% for every $500 million, should table game revenue ever reach those limits.

The minimum gambling age in Florida is 18 years for the lottery and bingo, and 21 years for those betting in casinos or the racing tracks.

List of Florida Casinos

With nearly 40 locations, there are plenty of Florida casinos to visit and play at. Below you will find a detailed list of the casinos in Florida, including their locations and websites. You can always use our Florida casinos map to guide you to the nearest location.

History of Florida Gambling

Racing won approval in the state legislature in 1931 by just one vote. The Florida Legislature eventually overrode Governor Doyle Carlton’s veto to legalize horse and greyhound racing in Florida. It was the first form of regulated betting in the state after a decade of attempts.

Jai Alai was added four years later. Slot machines were briefly legal between 1935 and 1937 before being repealed by the state legislature.

Florida legalized bingo and other charity games of chance in 1970. No minimum age was introduced making it so that anybody may play bingo in Florida, although most establishments to not admit minors.

The Seminoles were considered a nonprofit organization and were permitted to offer bingo. The largest prize pool for a bingo organizer is $100. The Seminoles decided that this did not pertain to them. The tribe opened high-stakes bingo. They were challenged by Attorney General Bob Butterworth. The Seminoles prevailed after the case made its way all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. This opened the door for more tribal bingo halls in Florida.

Florida voters approved a lottery in 1986. This same ballot initiative saw casinos fail in a landslide.

Poker was approved in 1994 in Broward County and throughout the state in 1996. It took until 2004, after many failed attempts, to legalize casinos on Seminole land. Florida casinos eventually spread to Dade and Broward Counties. The county casinos can only offer slots, video poker, and electronic table games. The Seminole casinos in Florida may offer house-banked table games in addition to these games.

Poker once had a pot limit of $10. This was raised to a $100 buy-in in 2008. All bet limits were dropped in Florida poker rooms in 2010.

A 1991 attorney general opinion stated that fantasy sports were illegal in Florida. Daily fantasy sports sites ignore this opinion. A federal grand jury is investigating the daily fantasy sports industry in the state.

Florida Gambling FAQ