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Florida sports betting has been a fight since the day the Seminoles Tribe — which owns and operates the Hard Rock casino — signed a 30-year compact with the state in 2021. That compact gave the tribes sole right to offer legal sports betting in the Sunshine State.
However, the Seminoles had to fight to even get set up. Many entities sued them, saying this exclusivity — and more specifically, its hub-and-spoke model for offering mobile app betting — was illegal. This led to Hard Rock Bet stopping and starting its service multiple times in 2022 and 2023. Eventually, the issue made its way to the Supreme Court, which effectively backed the Seminoles.
But even now that Hard Rock sports betting has been up and running for over a year, there’s another fight threatening to go the distance — the rise of so-called illegal operations. Essentially, the state wants to sniff out any betting going on in-state that’s not being regulated by the Seminoles. This fight has led to a brand-new piece of legislation, which we want to cover in this article. Keep reading, and we’ll update you on what’s going on!
New Senate Bill Making Headway
SB 1404 is being sponsored by Senator Corry Simon. This bill is attempting to make inroads on Florida’s illegal gambling issue. Essentially, the bill imposes stiffer penalties for unauthorized online gambling and sports betting, plus the outright ban of sweepstakes gambling.
According to the bill, “internet gambling” is defined as playing any game where money or something of value is awarded based on chance, accessible via the internet and simulating casino-style gaming. Similarly, “internet sports betting” is defined as placing bets of real money or other valuables on the outcome of contests involving skill, speed, power, or endurance, available online.
It’s an open secret that offshore betting is incredibly popular in the state of Florida. The reason is two-fold. For one, many offshore sportsbooks offer just as good a service as Hard Rock Bet — if not better. Secondly, it was the only way most bettors could bet for years before Hard Rock got up and running so many users stayed true to the platforms.
“Without more substantial penalties, illegal gambling will continue to spread, siphoning money from Florida,” Simon said during a recent meeting.
If enacted, violations would be classified as third-degree felonies. In Florida, these third-degree felonies carry serious consequences. We’re talking up to 5 years in prison or the same amount in probation. Current crimes that are categorized as third-degree felonies include grand theft, resisting arrest with violence, and felony battery, among other things.
The proposed law would take effect on October 1, 2025, if passed. But that’s the thing, right? How likely is this thing of actually passing by May 2 — the day the 2025 legislative session ends? We’ll dig into that in the next section.
Bill Makes Progress, But Not Without Criticism
The bill has already passed through two Senate committees — the latest being the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government — and is now headed to the Fiscal Policy Committee.
Despite its progress, some committee members expressed concerns about the bill’s clarity. Senators Jason W. B. Pizzo and Colleen Burton voted in favor but noted that the bill’s language needs refinement. Burton mentioned she would have opposed the bill if this were its final committee stop.
Additionally, representatives from Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion voiced opposition, worried that the bill might inadvertently criminalize electronic gaming machines used for charitable purposes in their halls.
Simon acknowledged these concerns, stating, “We’ll continue to push this forward. I, like you, are looking for a very black and white issue, and there seems to be far too many gray issues right now…if we can’t find a good landing spot, we won’t move the bill.”
Illegal Casinos Have Been A Thorn In Law Enforcement’s Side
Some of you may reading this so far and think the issue is a nothingburger — it’s just politicians who want to maximize their betting taxes, and that’s it. That’s one incentive, but it can be an issue of public safety too.
If you remember, Florida has had a few very public cases of illegal gambling rings. As recently as in 2024, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office — where Daytona Beach is at — executed 11 simultaneous search warrants across the county. They seized approximately 400 slot machines and about $403,000 in cash. These establishments were linked to various criminal activities, including shootings, armed robberies, and drug overdoses.
One of the illegal casinos was called Smash Monkey and was located in DeLand. Ironically, deputies had arrested a fraud suspect accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a senior couple there. The suspect was found gambling on one of the electronic machines during the raid.
See, what we mean? There is an element of danger to some of these illegal gambling operations. It makes for another compelling reason that SB 1404 has a shot to pass in Florida. We’ll be sure to update you on the bill’s progress once we get more details.
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