Recently, two major online sports betting platforms, DraftKings and FanDuel, formed a political committee called the Florida Education Champions and filed a proposed constitutional amendment that would finally legalize sports betting.
In order to get the proposed constitutional amendment on the 2022 ballot, the political committee would need to submit 891,589 valid petition signatures to Florida by February 1. Apart from having a certain amount of signatures signed, the Florida Education Champions committee would need sign-off from the Florida Supreme Court on the proposed ballot wording.
Three of the main reasons why legalizing sports betting in Florida would be a good idea are:
- It would boost the economy
- Sports corruption would be more controlled
- It would create more jobs
There’s no denying that sports betting is prevalent in our modern world, and it seems like it only keeps gaining popularity. Taxes from legal sports betting could be used for youth development, education, health programs, social aid, and much more.
In the meantime, if interested, you can check the detailed guide about sports betting in Florida and learn about all the necessary rules and regulations about gambling in the sunshine state.
The Backlash
While many people support legalizing sports betting in Florida, there are also people who are against it. The president of the group No Casino, John Sowinski, has spoken publicly against legalizing sports betting, saying that it would cause troubling spikes in teen gambling as well as addiction. He also stated that it would drive long-term social and economic costs, which will outweigh any perceived benefits.
Potential Online Sports Betting Sites In Florida
If everything goes to plan and sports betting becomes legal in Florida, the biggest name to dominate the sportsbook landscape is Hard Rock Sportsbook. As you may already know, the Seminole Tribe operates the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood. However, the deal approved between the state government and the tribe allows other Florida sportsbook brands to reach an agreement with the Seminole Tribe in order to be allowed access to the sunshine state sports betting market.
Although it’s tough to say exactly what sports betting sites will be the top operators in the sports betting industry for Florida, some pretty good guesses can be made. Some potential sportsbook operators include FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365, BetMGM, BetRivers and Caesars.
In the meantime, if you want to put some bets on sports in Florida, you can do that on offshore online casino sites without having any legal consequences. As long as you have good internet and a digital device, you’re good to go.
Quick Guide to Placing a Bet in Florida
While impatience of when will sports betting become legal in the sunshine state is killing people, the good distraction can be getting to know how to place a bet with your sportsbook app so that when sports betting finally comes to Florida, you’ll be ready.
The first step you will need to do is download the app to your mobile device. If you are an iPhone user, you will have it easy. All you’ll need to do is go to the App Store and download the sportsbook.
On the other hand, Android users will have a slightly more complex process. Since Google Play Store didn’t offer gambling apps until early 2021, it could happen that your favorite sportsbook app is not on Google Play Store, so you will need to visit the sportsbook’s website and download the app from there.
Next, you’ll need to make an account and provide some personal information like date of birth, address, and social security number. After that, you will need to make a deposit. Depending on the sportsbook you choose to download, you will have different deposit methods available.
Finally, if you decide to continue placing bets on offshore sites, make sure to be extra careful because the internet is full of cyber threats and scammers. With that said, gambling on well-known sites that are licensed is always a better option.
The Sunshine State Compared to the Other States
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Florida ranks pretty lowly compared to states that have already legalized sports betting. At the moment, horse race wagering is the only legal option in Florida.
New Jersey, Colorado and Pennsylvania have booming sports betting industries and make a minimum of hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue annually. With that said, Florida most definitely needs to step up the game if it wants to catch up to these giants. A good start is to expand casinos, gaming options and legalize sports betting.
