Florida Could Legalize Online Casinos In Coming Years

Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen hasn’t shied away from the desire to bring online casinos to Florida.

While Hard Rock is the lone legal online sports betting operator in Florida, offering a legal mobile casino app brings major revenue increases into play for mobile casino app operators.

“That [revenue] number gets significantly higher if iGaming gets approved in the future,” Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen told CNBC in December of 2023.

With this week’s legal victory for the Seminole Tribe in the Supreme Court maintaining the tribe’s sports betting monopoly, there’s a path for legal online casinos in Florida.

Lawyer Anticipates Florida Online Casinos

Daniel Wallach, a gaming attorney, believes the Seminoles and state could move reasonably quickly to bring legal casino apps to the state.

“The ruling provides a pathway for the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida to negotiate an amendment to the existing compact that would include online casino gaming, A.K.A. iGaming, under the Seminole Tribe’s control,” Wallach said.

Wallach cited early drafts of the compact between the Sunshine State and the tribe, which included online casino gaming language.

“The writing is on the wall,” Wallach said. “It’s going to happen. The question is when, and what kind of horse trading will be necessary to nullify any opposition to that amended contract? And that might require providing a pathway into Florida for online sports betting to FanDuel or DraftKings or any other company that could loom as a potential spoiler for iGaming. It might be the subject of negotiation for stakeholders going forward, but the Seminole Tribe holds all the cards right now.”

In Wallach’s estimation, Florida could soon cement its place as one of the most important gambling states in the United States. For now, Sweepstakes sites like Fortune Coins are the best option for users.

“I think we’re three years or less away from Florida becoming the most significant state for online casino gaming and transforming the Sunshine Capital to maybe the most powerful digital gaming state in the United States, certainly in terms of market size, but not the number of operators,” Wallach said.

Photo: Getty Images