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Florida is one of the biggest dominos yet to fall in the United States for legal sports betting. It has the third-highest population in the country — much of it being a rabid sports fan base too. Yet, those diehards and Floridians at large can’t easily bet on sports.
We use the word easily because technically speaking, sports betting is allowed in the Sunshine State. The thing is it’s incredibly limited — and that’s what’s being challenged in this court case. Allow us to explain the full details of what’s going on in Florida:
Seminole Tribe’s Monopoly Is Being Challenged
As we said, you can bet on sports in Florida — so long as it goes through the Seminole Tribe. The tribe essentially has a monopoly on the industry, which was granted by state lawmakers, including Governor Ron DeSantis in 2021 (DraftKings and FanDuel were denied during this same process). The tribe operates the Hard Rock Bet app, which gives Floridians the opportunity to wager.
Here’s the issue, that app only works if within tribal land — which is largely in Northern Florida. It’s not like you can pull up Hard Rock Bet when you’re on the beach in Miami. This geo-blocking essentially negates the majority of the Florida population from participating in online sports betting through a licensed entity.
This privilege is being challenged in the case of West Flagler and Associates vs. the State of Florida. West Flagler argues that the current legality of sports betting in Florida is “plainly unlawful.” And now, the US Supreme Court has set June 13 as the date the group of justices will discuss the merits of hearing the Florida sports betting case.
There are nine justices that will review the aforementioned West Flagler and Associates vs. the State of Florida case. The keyword in the last sentence is “hear.” They’re not deciding whether it’s legal or not on June 13, only if it’s worth proceeding with the real case to hear both sides. Four justices must vote to accept the case.
Question is, how likely is the case to be accepted, and thus moved forward with? That’s the multi-billionaire-dollar question — for sportsbook operators and Floridians interested in betting. We have answers in the next section.
Hurdles Remain To Be Heard By Supreme Court
We’ll be completely blunt: the chances of the Supreme Court accepting the case of West Flagler and Associates vs. the State of Florida is low. Really low, as a matter of fact. We’re speaking on a purely statistical basis too — not necessarily on the case merits.
Get this, the US Supreme Court receives about 7,500 requests for writs of certiorari every single year. Guess how many are granted and proceeded with? Around 150 per year. That means the acceptance rate is a whopping two percent.
The Supreme Court really only takes cases that have far-reaching consequences. They did accept Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association years ago, which overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). If you remember, this is what kickstarted legal sports betting in the first place because it removed its federal ban. But again, that case has deep consequences because it affected all 50 states. This new case is a Florida issue only.
What happens if and when the Supreme Court declines to hear the West Flagler case? Well, they would get kicked down to the Florida state courts. Issue is, the Florida courts are much less likely to overturn their own rules since they were imposed by in-state lawmakers.
In other words, Florida bettors shouldn’t get their hopes up here. Getting things changed in the courts, especially laws of this magnitude, is rare. Instead, bettors should look toward “alternative” methods to bet on sports inside the state. We have a golden idea for doing so in the next section.
Offshore Betting Sites Remain Florida Bettors “Best Bet”
You can bet online in Florida without using the Hard Rock Bet app and being on native land. How? Well, you go offshore — that’s how.
There are a number of top-rated sportsbooks that operate far away from Florida and the United States. Due to that, they don’t have to abide by the same rules as the likes of BetMGM or FanDuel, both of which aren’t allowed to operate in Florida or states that still have sports betting banned.
Without these handcuffs, offshore sportsbooks can take in bets from bettors, including those in Florida. Look, we’ve tried using them inside state borders and it worked like a charm. No geo-blocking, a quality sportsbook, big-money bonuses everywhere — Florida bettors have everything they need here.
Underneath, we’ve listed our favorite offshore bookies. All five of these rated the highest in our latest sportsbook reviews:
Now’s the perfect time to wager online too. That’s because the NHL’s Florida Panthers are playing on the Stanley Cup Finals. This is a golden opportunity to rack up some profits so don’t miss out on it. Just click one of the “play now” buttons in the above table and get started right away!
