The Sunshine State has changed in a number of ways with regards to gambling, switching backwards and forwards in terms of how they regulate the likes of casinos, poker rooms and racetracks. In fact, few states can boast such a colorful and complicated gambling history as Florida. Gambling activities have succumbed to the law now, although they may not have always done, and its land-based gambling is now incredibly well regulated.

The Law in Florida

Florida’s gambling laws are regulated and all legal gambling includes casino gaming, tribal gambling, casino boats, horse racing, dog racing, Bingo, the state lottery, and charitable gambling. The casino boats are interesting because they allow bettors to board luxury boats that travel offshore where gambling is technically not illegal. However, online gambling is illegal throughout the country under federal law. You can report online gambling to the FBI. Live gambling that violates state law should be reported to the appropriate state authority – typically a gaming commission or illegal gambling task force within state law enforcement. Florida Online Gambling In Summary. All in all, online gambling in Florida is both illegal and in a tenuous position. Florida law enforcement doesn’t regularly hunt down people who participate in online gambling. The law doesn’t explicitly forbid online gambling on paper.

The State precedent is to assume that in a game of chance, if the chance element is inherent, it is gambling. Betting on skill games is illegal in this state, unless there are specific exemptions under the law. For example, a specific exemption is that bowling tournaments are allowed to issue real-cash prizes and there are also certain free-to-enter lotteries which are also permitted. Similarly, social poker and card games are allowed as long as they play with ‘penny-ante’ stakes, which are defined as any game where no individual takes winnings in a single round, hand or game, over the total of $10.

Legal Forms of Gambling in Florida

• The complex Florida gambling laws mean that fully legalized and regulated online poker is a long ways off but there are some positive signs. Much of the issues stem from the restrictive compacts that have been made with the Seminole tribes. There are essentially two ways that.
• Gambling is completely legal in the state of Florida, however there is one very important restriction that applies to everyone involved. The age that you need to be to gamble in Florida is 21, however you will find that some poker rooms accept players at the age of 18. Thankfully, the lower age is also completely legal.

Operating web casinos in Florida isn’t allowed, but that doesn’t mean that playing web casinos is banned too. Florida bettors are allowed to play at any internet casino they wish to play at, providing that the venues accept deposits from customers based in Florida, meaning that Floridians can take up any online bookmaker offers. Offshore casinos can either accept or refuse players from the US, including Floridians, but more and more casinos are now accepting subscribers from the States so these should be the first port of call for Florida-based bettors.

Casino games are allowed in Florida and, in fact, there are some world-class casinos found here, including the Hard Rock Casinos. There’s also the option to go on cruise ships that enable bettors to play casino games in international waters, including craps and roulette which are not allowed in land-based casinos in Florida.

Live poker games are permitted and there are card rooms associated with the Tribal casinos and racetracks. The maximum betting amounts went up to $100 in 2008 and, since then, poker has flourished as an entertainment activity. Some prestigious tournaments are even held here, alongside regular cash games. Online poker games are not allowed though as these are covered by the 2012 laws banning internet café casinos. The laws in Florida are broad enough that games of skill are also included in this, although there haven’t been any arrests yet for playing online poker games exclusively.

Sports betting can be played in the Sunshine State and you can bet using pari-mutuel machines on horse or dog racing, as well as get in on the action on Jai-Alai which is a regional ball game in a three-walled court. Along with sports betting, lottery betting and bingo games are also legal here. Florida has a state lottery and also participates in the inter-State games such as the Powerball. Bettors can take part in charity bingo games and raffles, as well as play bingo for bigger prizes in the Seminole tribal territories.

Photo from Deposit Photos

After being featured prominently at last year’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, skill-based slot machines—think Angry Birds, Candy Crush, or Guitar Hero, but played for cash—have been heralded as the heir apparent to the original slot machine. The stale original is boring for younger generations of casino-goers that have grown up playing interactive games on their smartphones. Casinos recognize that, to capture the attention of this market, they have to evolve the slot machine from the insert-a-token, pull-a-lever, and hope-for-fortune model.

Is Online Gambling Illegal In Florida

One industry observer has suggested that the enthusiasm behind skill-based slots is “a sign of the casino industry’s destiny—sort of Bellagio meets Dave and Buster’s.” This may be true, and the future proliferation of skill-based slots might not be limited to places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Because the outcome of skill-based slots are, as the name implies, based on players’ skill, they may not be prohibited by the gambling laws of certain states.

Florida is not one of those states. Florida explicitly prohibits skill-based slots that pay out cash or other things of value. Florida Statute § 849.16 defines slot machine as “any machine or device . . . [that] may be operated and if the user, whether by application of skill or by reason of any element of chance or any other outcome unpredictable by the user, may: (a) Receive or become entitled to receive any piece of money, credit, allowance, or thing of value.” In addition, the State’s gambling laws and broad statutory definition of “slot machine” have created a very fine line between arcade games, like those offered at Chuck E. Cheese’s, and illegal slot machines.

The Palms II internet café of Ocala, Florida recently found itself on the wrong side of that line. Last December, a state court ordered the Palms II to cease operating video game machines that the State Attorney had deemed to be illegal slot machines. Order Granting Final Summary Judgment, Let’s of Ocala II, LLC v. Brad King et al., No. 15:2648-CA-G (Fla. Cir. Ct. July 13, 2016). The game in question involves two stages. In the first, a randomized “loot wheel” spins on the screen; where it lands dictates the potential points the player can win. In the second stage, the player attempts to click on ducks flying across the screen—much like Nintendo’s classic Duck Hunt. Successful players win points that are redeemable for cheap merchandise on-site. No cash equivalent is offered for the points.

The Palms II challenged the State Attorney’s determination in court, arguing that the games were skill-based and more akin to arcade games than illegal slot machines. The Circuit Court of Marion County disagreed, granting summary judgment against the Palms II. According to the court, the game constituted illegal gambling under Florida Statutes § 849.08 and § 849.16. Section 849.08 makes it a crime to play or engage “in any game . . . of chance, at any place, by any device whatever, for money or other thing of value.” As noted above, Section 849.16 defines illegal slot machines as machine-based games that contain “any element of chance or any other outcome unpredictable by the user.” The court found that the “loot wheel” at the outset of the game qualifies as an element of chance prohibited by the statutes. For the same reason, the court found that the games are not protected by under Florida’s Family Amusement Games Act—the statute enacted to protect arcade games like those at Chuck E. Cheese’s and Dave and Buster’s.

Is Gambling Illegal In Florida Keys

Because Florida expressly prohibits skill-based slots, the court’s decision doesn’t have significant implications on the burgeoning industry. The decision does, however, highlight the potential complications that will arise as the industry grows amidst ill-fitting gaming laws. The skill-based slot machine industry is coming; states will need to be prepared with correspondingly modernized gaming laws and regulations.