Legal sports betting has rapidly spread throughout the United States since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018. PASPA, initially enacted in 1992, didn’t interfere with states where sports betting was already legally underway. Still, it prohibited new states from operating, sponsoring, promoting, or licensing sports betting schemes.
After successfully challenging PASPA in court, New Jersey was among the first states to throw themselves into the sports betting market. Since then, more than 30 states have taken steps to legalize sports betting in some capacity – either online, at retail locations, or both.
Sports Betting In Florida
Florida, the third-most populous in the United States, hasn’t yet legalized sports betting in either capacity. As of now, it remains on hold.
That’s not to say the Sunshine State won’t see sports betting legalized again, however – indeed, it isn’t too far removed from a brief time when sports betting legally operated under the jurisdiction of the Seminole Tribe. The deal which gave the Seminole Tribe that authority was struck down by a federal judge in 2021, less than a year after it was signed.
Other efforts to get legal sports betting on the ballot in Florida have been made and fallen short, but the requisite interest by the necessary parties in the state is evident. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see legal sports betting return to the sunshine state.
In the meantime, Florida residents can partake in online DFS and horse racing apps, which serve as an adequate substitute in the interim.