The Battle for Sports Betting Rights in Florida

The state of Maryland has officially opened the doors for residents to legally wager on sports. So far, there are four licensed bookmakers operating in that state, that being the PointsBet-affiliated Riverboat-on-the-Potomac, MGM National Harbor, the Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, and the Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover. That's progress.

Earlier this month, the Ohio state legislature passes HB 29, a bill that formally legalized sports betting in the state. While it might be a year or more until the state has licensed bookmakers and started taking bets. it's progress.

In the state of Florida, everything related to legalized sports betting has taken a big step backward.

The Battle fo Sports Betting Rights in Florida

Earlier this year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis inked a new compact with the Seminole Indiana Tribe. As part of the new compact, the Tribe would get explosive rights to provide sports betting to the state's residents.

The immediate problem with the signing was it effectively cut the rest of Florida's gambling industry out of the sports betting picture. With the state of Florida set to receive billions of dollars from the compact deal, the challenges to the new compact came fast and furious.

The final blow to the compact came when a US Federal District Court judge invalidated the deal. The Seminole Tribe, which has started taking legal sports wagers through its Hard Rock Cafe operation, was forced to stop taking bets in November.

Anyone who believes that sports betting is dead in Florida had better think again. Floridians love to gamble. There is too much at stake for interested parties to let this go. That's why the two competing sides are pulling together ballot initiatives that will let voters have the final say.

The open sports betting crowd is led by Florida Voters in Charge, backed by Las Vegas Sands, and Florida Education Champions, which is getting a lot of support from online gambling providers like DraftKings and Fanduel. In November, these two groups spent over $21 million on efforts to get Florida voters to side with an open sports betting ecosystem. To date, they have gotten more than 700,000 of the 893,000 signatures that are needed for a ballot initiative. With two months remaining until the deadlines, there is still a lot of work to be done.

On the other side of the battle lies a determined Seminole Tribe. After exhausting the tribe's appeals related to the new compact, they too are trying to get a competing ballot initiative on the ballot in November 2022. They are running their campaign through the Standing Up for Florida group.

In November, the tribe spent $5.8 in TV ads to gain the support of Florida residents.

With a population of well over 21 people, the sports betting community considers Florida to be one of its prized jewels. Given the unlikelihood sports betting legislation will pass in California or Texas any time soon, all eyes are going to be on the battle that has ensued in Florida.