It has been one year since legal Florida sports betting went live statewide for good. Billions have been won and lost. The Seminole Tribe of Florida maintains its betting monopoly, which is protected by a gaming compact signed by the Tribe and Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021.

But big changes could be coming in Year 2. 

The Tribe operates legal retail and online sports betting throughout the nation’s third-most-populous state through the Hard Rock Bet app and the Hard Rock sportsbook. Online betting is conducted through a “hub-and-spoke” approach. That allows those 21 and over who are eligible to wager anywhere within the state’s boundaries. The servers that handle each bet are located on Indian lands.

The Seminole Tribe formally reactivated its sports betting program on December 7, 2023, after a soft launch in November 2023. This came after a bruising court battle that began in the spring of 2021. Sports betting was active for 34 days via the Hard Rock Bet app in the fall of 2021 before a federal judge’s ruling halted it.

The Hard Rock Bet app has booked multiple $1 million and larger wagers since it went live again a year ago. Bettors in Florida are subjected to a daily stream of TV and digital media ads in both English and Spanish promoting the Hard Rock Bet app, and its status as Florida's only legal sports betting site. The app offers immediate payouts that are deposited in customer’s bank accounts on the same day, or the next banking day.

The State Of Sports Betting In Florida

The juice on the app is competitive with other legal sites. But the markets are limited compared to what one might find on DraftKings, ESPN BET, BetMGM, or FanDuel. That’s especially true in terms of expanded futures markets, exotic in-game offerings, and single-player props. The Hard Rock Bet app currently operates in Arizona, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Florida has two MLB teams, two MLS clubs, three NFL franchises, two NHL squads, and two NBA franchises. The state has long been a college hotbed, thanks to the University of Florida, Florida State, UCF, and the University of Miami.

“Florida’s legal gaming industry has an annual economic impact of $12.7 billion and generates $2.1 billion in tax revenue and tribal revenue share payments annually while supporting nearly 73,000 jobs statewide. Sports betting is anticipated to bolster these impacts considerably,” the Florida Gaming Control Commission told bookies.com in a statement. 

Of course, not all of that money is from sports betting. The revenues from the compact encompass all gaming revenues from the Tribe, including money from slot machines, table games, card games, craps, and roulette.

What’s Next For Sports Betting In Florida?

The Seminole Tribe and West Flagler Associates, who had been embroiled for years in a legal battle over the gaming compact, reached a settlement in October. West Flagler halted all legal claims against the compact in state and federal court, and the Tribe agreed to offer sports betting on the jai alai run by West Flagler on the Hard Rock Bet app.

The Tribe continues to discuss the possibility of opening the Florida sports betting market up to other sports betting operators. The legal settlement with West Flagler removes a major obstacle for Hard Rock in its pursuit of any possible sports betting partners.

Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen told bookies.com in late 2023 that the Tribe remains open to allowing other operators in the state. Another Hard Rock source told bookies.com in March of this year that other operators have not been able to gain ground in negotiations because they were not willing to "bend the knee."

Allen reiterated his willingness to entertain partners such as DraftKings and FanDuel in an interview with CNBC at the G2E Summit in October. A representative from DraftKings said it had no comment on the matter.

Now that the compact's legal status is secured, many industry insiders expect the Tribe to make a push for igaming in the Sunshine State during the 2025 legislative session, possibly in exchange for allowing other sports betting operators in the state.

Florida law requires any expansion of gaming off Indian lands to pass the state referendum process with 60% of the vote.

How Much Money Does Florida Sports Betting Generate?

Florida is the most populous state in the nation that has legal sports betting with 21.78 million people.

Those over 21 located in Florida can bet legally on the sports via the Hard Rock Bet. The Tribe also offers retail sports betting at its Hard Rock casinos in the state.

The Seminole Tribe resumed its payments to the state in January 2024. Florida received $357 million from the Compact with the Seminole Tribe in FY 2023–2024, which ended on June 30.

The Office of Economic and Demographic Research’s Revenue Estimating Conference anticipates total tribal gaming revenue share payments of $5.22 billion through the 2029-2030 fiscal year, according to the FGCC. The state estimates a 3.77% increase each year coming from sports betting revenue.

The Estimating Conference projects the Tribe's taxable gross gaming revenue (GGR) from sports betting to be $750.2 million in the first full fiscal year of betting that runs from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

Using the industry average GGR of about 8%, the Tribe's handle during that one-year period could reach $9.5 billion. Based on the current numbers, that would make Florida the No. 4 state in the nation in terms of sports betting handle, behind only New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. But ahead of Nevada and Pennsylvania.

New York has 19.84 million people but features a competitive sports betting market with multiple legal sports books. They include DraftKings and FanDuel, which combine to control about 60% of the U.S. legal sports betting market.

No Official Information Available From the Tribe

The compact does not require Seminole Gaming to release any monthly or annual figures in terms of betting handle or hold.

A representative from Hard Rock declined to comment for this story.

A public record request from bookies.com to the Florida Gaming Control Commission made in July seeking any information or data available on handle from the Hart Rock Bet app, or any disciplinary actions taken toward the Tribe, remains in process.

An attorney from the FGCC told bookies.com that the review should be completed “within the next couple of weeks.” A letter to bookies.com said 326 items fix the criteria sought but are being reviewed in accordance with Florida’s Open Records law.

How We Got Here?

A Supreme Court decision in June of 2024 finally cleared the way for Seminole Gaming and the state to operate their current compact until 2051.

The ruling ended nearly a three-year journey through both the state and federal court system that began with lawsuits filed back in late 2021. A federal judge halted the compact in November of 2021. But it was reinstated last year after a federal appeals court overturned that decision.

The Florida State Supreme Court also threw out an attempt to hear the case in Tallahassee on procedural grounds.

The 2021 Gaming Compact originally included a provision for online casino betting. However, that was stripped in the negotiation process before the Florida legislature passed the in a 2021 special session. g.

Florida Sports Betting Timeline

📅  December 7: The Seminole Tribe of Florida and Hard Rock mark the one-year anniversary sports betting, roulette, and craps being launched statewide.

📅  October 27: West Flagler and the Tribe agree to halt legal hostilities in exchange for Jai Alai betting on the Hard Rock Bet app.

📅  June 17: The U.S. Supreme Court denies a petition to hear a case that could have overturned the compact, meaning it will stand until 2051.

📅  April 22: Underdog Fantasy brings its peer-to-peer DFS game to Florida. That comes 2 months after it was forced to exit the state because of its daily single-player pick' em game. PrizePicks and betr eventually do the same.

📅  March 23: The Florida Supreme Court rules that a case challenging the legality of the Florida Gaming Compact cannot be directly brought before the Court.

📅  February 29: Three fantasy sports operators - betr, Prize Picks, and Underdog Sports - halt their daily single-player pick' em games after receiving "cease and desist" letters from the state.

📅  February 20: State economists estimate the Hard Rock Bet app and its related retail sports books could generate as much as $750 million in gross gaming revenue in its first full fiscal year of operation.

📅  February 11: Super Bowl 58 becomes the first Super Bowl upon which Floridians can legally wager.

📅  February 8: West Flagler files a writ of Writ of Certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court.

📅  December 11, 2023: Craps, roulette, and sports betting launch at Seminole Casino Immokalee, near Naples, and Seminole Brighton Casino, on the northwest side of Lake Okeechobee.

📅  December 8, 2023: Craps, roulette, and sports betting Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa

📅  December 7, 2023: Craps, roulette, and sports betting launch at all three Seminole Casinos in South Florida: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood, and Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. 

📅  December 5, 2023: The Hard Rock Betting app is made available to anyone 21 and over and eligible to bet located inside Florida. 

📅  November 7, 2023: Hard Rock App relaunches in Florida after a nearly two-year hiatus. The launch is limited to customers who had previously used the app in Florida in 2021. 

📅  November 2023: Tribe announces "New Era In Florida Gaming" with craps, roulette, and in-person betting starting in December.

📅  October 2023:  U.S. Supreme Court denies a stay on the U.S. District Court of Appeals decision to reinstate the compact. allowing it to take effect.

📅  October 2023: The appeals court orders Federal Judge Dabney L. Friedrich to vacate her decision, officially reinstating the compact.

📅  September 2023: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denies request for full en banc hearing.

📅  June 2023: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns Federal Judge Dabney L. Friedrich's reversal of the compact.

📅  February 2023: West Flagler Associates sells Magic City Casino.

📅  December 2022:  A 3-judge federal appeals court hears an appeal of Friedrich's decision that overturned the compact.

📅  March 2022: NFL WR Calvin Ridley, a Fort Lauderdale native, is suspended for the 2022 season after an investigation finds he bet on NFL games over a five-day stretch in November 2021 on the Hard Rock Bet app. Ridley was in Florida at the time while he was away from the Atlanta Falcons. Ridley said his bets totaled $1500.

📅  January 2022: Appeal of Friedrich's decision filed by the Department of Interior in the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit.

📅  November 2021: Betting on the Tribe's app halted after 34 days.

📅  November 2021: Friedrich overturns compact, calling parts of it "fiction."

📅  October 2021: Sports betting begins statewide via the Tribe's Hard Rock betting app. It has since been re-branded to Hard Rock Bet.

📅  August 2021: Multiple state and federal lawsuits are filed to overturn the compact, including two by West Flagler Associates.

📅  May 2021: DeSantis and Tribe Chairman Osceola sign a 30-year, $500 million-per-year gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida after it is approved in a special session of the Florida Legislature. The compact allows for online sports betting statewide through a controversial "hub and spoke" approach. It also allows the Tribe to offer craps and roulette in its casinos.

📅  November 2018: Florida voters approve Amendment 3 (now Article X, Section 30 of the Florida Constitution). It prohibits the legislature from enabling any new "casino gaming" – save for a compact with the Seminole Tribe. It requires 60% approval by the public in a statewide election to expand "casino gaming." It makes no mention of "sports betting." "No Casinos" authored the amendment. That group then worked with Disney and the Tribe, who financed the push for its pass. The Tribe spent more than $24 million of the $46 million raised to back the amendment, state election financial records show. With Disney spending more than $11 million.