Answering your questions as Florida sports betting begins at Seminole Casino Immokalee
Sports betting has finally arrived in Southwest Florida.
Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee's sports book opens Monday in a ceremony featuring a handful of celebrities including Immokalee High grad and NFL Hall of Famer Edgerrin James and former MMA star and current Cape Coral restaurant owner Tito Ortiz.
Here's a quick primer on what to know about sports betting in Florida.
What took so long for sports betting to come to Florida?
How much time do you have? Here's the short version. In 2021, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Trible agreed on a compact that allowed the Seminoles to offer online sports betting across Florida. However, two pari-mutual groups, including the owners of the Bonita Springs Poker Room, sued to stop the agreement arguing it violated federal law. In November 2021, a federal judge agreed and after just 34 days, the Hard Rock SportsBook mobile app shut down following the ruling.
The tribe, however, appealed the decision. In June, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed the 2021 ruling. Two months later, a federal appeals court denied the pari-mutual groups' request for a rehearing. Finally, in October, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to stay the appeals court ruling, clearing the way for sports betting in the Sunshine State.
The 30-year agreement also allowed the Seminoles to add craps and roulette at their casinos. The tribe agreed to pay the state at least $2.5 billion over the first five years and possibly billions more throughout the life of the compact.
What casinos offer sports betting in Florida?
As of Monday, all six Seminole-controlled casinos, including Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee, offer retail sports betting. The other five are Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, the Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood, the Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa and Seminole Brighton Casino. Hard Rock Hollywood and Coconut Creek starting taking bets Thursday at 5 p.m. while the others rolled out over the weekend with Immokalee being the last. At Coconut Creek Thursday, the property unveiled 32 sports-betting kiosks spread out across the vast gaming oasis. There were only two stations in which live tellers took in bets.
Can I place sports bets online in Florida?
Yes, but only through Hard Rock Bet, the Seminole Tribe's mobile sports betting app. Other popular online sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel are still not available in Florida.
Hard Rock Bet had a soft launch in November for previous customers of the short-lived Hard Rock SportsBook app and select new ones on a waiting list. Last week, the tribe announced the app's full launch, making it available to all Floridians.
Can I bet on sports at the Bonita Springs Poker Room?
The Poker Room offers customers the opportunity to bet on horse racing and jai lai in its Sports & Wagering Room. The terms of the Seminole Tribe's gambling compact with the state gives them exclusive rights to sports betting. Pari-mutual companies West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., the owners of the Poker Room, filed a lawsuit with the Florida Supreme Court which argues the sports-betting portion of the state's agreement with the Seminoles violates a constitutional amendment that requires voters to approve expansions of casino-style gambling. The case is pending.
