Florida Sports Betting: Best Legal Sportsbooks
Online sports betting is legal in Florida.
Key facts
- Legal status
- Legal online
- Minimum age
- 21+
- Online sportsbooks
- 0
Your betting options in Florida
There are no licensed sportsbooks in Florida yet. We will update this page as soon as that changes. Visiting a state with licensed private sportsbooks? You can use any sportsbook licensed there while you are physically inside its borders.
See every state where online betting is legal
Offshore sportsbooks that accept players from Florida are not licensed in the US and offer no consumer protection.
Is sports betting legal in Florida?
Yes, but Florida's market works very differently from most states. Sports betting is legal online and in person only through the Seminole Tribe of Florida, under a gaming compact signed by Governor Ron DeSantis and ratified by the Legislature in 2021. The Tribe operates the Hard Rock Bet app statewide, and the minimum age is 21.
The road to launch was bumpy. The Tribe briefly took mobile bets in late 2021 before a federal court ruling forced a shutdown. A federal appeals court reversed that decision in 2023, Hard Rock Bet relaunched statewide that November, and in 2024 the US Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge to the compact. Under the compact's structure, bets placed anywhere in Florida are deemed to be accepted on tribal land, where the Tribe's servers are located.
Why our ranked sportsbooks are not in Florida
Florida is technically an online state, but the compact gives the Seminole Tribe exclusive control of sports betting. As a result, none of the sportsbooks we review, BetMGM, bet365 and BetRivers, is licensed in Florida, and there is no route for them to enter without a change to the compact or a new law. A 2018 constitutional amendment also requires voter approval for most expansions of casino gambling, which makes opening the market more complicated.
For Floridians this means a single legal app and no price competition. Line shopping is only possible when you are physically in another legal state, and you should avoid offshore sites that advertise to Florida residents.
Betting in person
Retail sportsbooks operate at Seminole casinos, including the Seminole Hard Rock properties in Hollywood and Tampa. Geolocation still applies to the app: you must be inside Florida when you place a bet, and the check runs on every wager.
Florida also has a state regulator, the Florida Gaming Control Commission, created in 2021 to oversee pari-mutuel facilities and to tackle illegal gambling. It does not license sportsbooks, but it has taken action against unlicensed operators and sweepstakes-style products. That is a useful reminder that apps advertising to Floridians without Seminole involvement are not part of the legal market.
Florida's teams and responsible gambling
Florida has three NFL teams in the Dolphins, Buccaneers and Jaguars, two NHL Stanley Cup contenders in the Lightning and Panthers, the Heat and Magic in the NBA, and major college programmes at Florida, Florida State and Miami. That depth of local interest makes it one of the largest betting audiences in the country, even with a single operator.
The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling runs a 24-hour helpline at 1-888-ADMIT-IT. Florida has no state personal income tax, but winnings remain taxable at federal level.
Florida sports betting FAQ
Is sports betting legal in Florida?
Online sports betting is legal in Florida.
What is the legal betting age in Florida?
You must be at least 21 years old to place a sports bet in Florida.
Can I bet online if I live in Florida?
Licensed sportsbooks use geolocation, so you can bet online whenever you are physically located in a state where online betting is legal.