Betting in Florida

Florida is the only state where a single mobile sportsbook serves more than 22 million residents - making it the largest exclusive-operator market the U.S. has ever seen.

Hard Rock Bet doesn’t share the field with competitors, yet it still posts betting numbers that rival multi-operator states. The scale is unprecedented: no other state has ever attempted (or been legally allowed) a model this large with only one sportsbook running the entire show.

A core requirement of Florida’s compact is that every online wager must be routed through servers on Seminole tribal land. This legal structure is what allows statewide mobile betting to exist in the first place.

Even if you’re placing a bet from Miami, Jacksonville, or Pensacola, it’s legally classified as a tribal wager because the server sits on Seminole property. It’s a clever workaround that preserved sovereignty, satisfied federal requirements, and opened the door for a statewide app.

Unlike other states that impose fixed tax rates on operators, Florida’s revenue structure comes straight from the gaming compact.

The Seminole Tribe shares a negotiated percentage of betting revenue with the state, bypassing traditional taxation models entirely. This setup gives Florida consistent revenue without the regulatory overhead, and gives the Tribe exclusive control over pricing, promotions, and operations - all outside the typical regulatory framework seen elsewhere.

Florida takes one of the most open approaches to college betting in the country. Unlike many states that ban wagers on in-state college teams or restrict player props, Florida allows full college betting across the board.

Bettors can wager on Florida teams - including the state’s powerhouse programs like Florida, FSU, Miami, UCF, etc., out-of-state teams, tournaments, and player props without limitations.

Even though Hard Rock Bet holds exclusive rights to real-money sports betting, Floridians can still use sweepstakes-based sportsbooks and casinos thanks to federal sweepstakes law.

These platforms let players make picks or play casino-style games using virtual currencies that can be redeemed for cash prizes. They don’t compete with Hard Rock in the traditional sense, but they give players bonus-style gameplay, social competition, and more variety than the single-operator market would otherwise allow.

Florida’s sportsbook cannot offer wagers on political outcomes, economic indicators, award shows, or cultural events - the same rules that apply in nearly every regulated market.

But prediction markets, which are federally regulated under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), operate outside state gambling laws. That means Floridians can legally speculate on elections, economic releases, pop culture moments, and other real-world events through platforms like Kalshi or Polymarket, even though the sportsbook can’t touch those markets.