Florida Gambling Laws: Venues, Age Limits, and Penalties

Florida gambling laws permit the state lottery, pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing and jai alai, poker and dominoes at licensed cardrooms, slot machines at pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, charitable bingo, small-stakes home games, and the full range of casino games and sports betting offered by the Seminole Tribe. Everything else, including online casino play and any commercial sportsbook other than Hard Rock Bet, is illegal. A 2018 constitutional amendment handed voters the exclusive power to approve new forms of casino gambling, so the list above is unlikely to grow without a statewide ballot campaign.

What’s Legal to Play

  • Florida Lottery scratch-offs and draw games, including Powerball and Mega Millions
  • Pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing, jai alai, and simulcast races
  • Poker and dominoes at licensed cardrooms
  • Slot machines at licensed pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties
  • Slots, blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette, and poker at Seminole Tribe casinos
  • Sports betting through the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Bet mobile app
  • Bingo and raffles run by qualifying nonprofit organizations
  • Private home poker or dominoes games with no winner taking more than $10 per hand

What’s Illegal

Online casino games, online poker, and internet lottery sales are not authorized in Florida. No commercial sportsbook other than Hard Rock Bet is licensed to take bets in the state. House-banked table games such as blackjack, craps, and roulette are not available at any commercial cardroom; those games exist in Florida only on Seminole tribal land. Slot machines outside South Florida pari-mutuel facilities and tribal casinos are prohibited. Unlicensed bookmaking, sweepstakes-style internet cafes operating as gambling halls, and backroom card games all remain criminal.

Daily fantasy sports platforms such as DraftKings and FanDuel operate in Florida, but the state has not passed legislation specifically regulating or authorizing them.

Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Cardrooms, and Slots

Pari-mutuel wagering is one of the oldest legal forms of gambling in the state, covering horse racing, jai alai, and simulcast broadcasts under Chapter 550 of the Florida Statutes.1Justia. Florida Statutes Title XXXIII Chapter 550 – Pari-Mutuel Wagering Live greyhound racing ended after December 31, 2020, when a voter-approved amendment took effect. Former greyhound tracks can still hold other pari-mutuel permits and operate cardrooms or slot machines where authorized.

Licensed pari-mutuel facilities can run cardrooms offering poker and dominoes under Section 849.086. These are nonbanking games: players compete against each other, and the cardroom earns its money through a rake or seat fee rather than taking a side. Operators can set their own buy-in and wagering limits for cash games, cardrooms can stay open 24 hours a day, and the state collects an 8 percent tax on gross cardroom receipts.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 849 Section 086 – Cardrooms Authorized

Slot machines are legal at licensed pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties only, under a 2004 constitutional amendment limited to those two counties.3Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 551 Section 106 Outside that geography and tribal lands, slot machines are prohibited.

Seminole Casinos

The Seminole Tribe of Florida operates the state’s most expansive gambling under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which allows federally recognized tribes to run casinos on their land after negotiating a compact with the state.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC Chapter 29 – Indian Gaming Regulation Hard Rock properties in Tampa and Hollywood, along with other Seminole casinos, offer slot machines, blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette, and poker. Those games are not available at any commercial facility in Florida.

The current arrangement runs on a 2021 compact that guarantees the state at least $2.5 billion in revenue over its first five years and an estimated $6 billion through 2030.5Florida Governor’s Office. Governor Ron DeSantis Celebrates Approval of Historic Gaming Compact With Seminole Tribe In exchange, the tribe received exclusive statewide rights to sports betting and continued exclusive rights to house-banked card games. A federal district court struck the compact down, but the D.C. Circuit reversed on June 30, 2023, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined review that October, leaving the compact in place.

Sports Betting

Legal sports betting in Florida runs exclusively through the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Bet mobile app, which launched December 7, 2023. No other operator, online or in person, is licensed to take sports bets in the state. The 2021 compact treats wagers placed anywhere in Florida as occurring on tribal land, the legal theory the D.C. Circuit endorsed when it reinstated the deal. Because of the federal Wire Act of 1961, bets placed through Hard Rock Bet must originate within Florida’s borders.

Lottery

Florida voters approved the state lottery through a 1986 constitutional amendment, and it has since transferred more than $49.5 billion to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.6Florida Lottery. Education Fact Sheet You must be at least 18 to buy a ticket, and retailers who sell to minors face a second-degree misdemeanor.7Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 24.1055 – Prohibition Against Sale of Lottery Tickets to Minors There are no legal online lottery sales in Florida.

Charitable Bingo and Raffles

Nonprofit organizations that have been active for at least three years and hold tax-exempt status under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code can run bingo games and raffles. Under Section 849.0931, jackpots cannot exceed $250, other prizes cap at $50, and an organization can host bingo no more than two days per week. Net proceeds, after actual operating expenses, must go to the organization’s charitable purpose. Condominium associations, homeowners’ associations, and mobile home park resident groups can also hold bingo, but all net proceeds must be returned to players as prizes.8Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 849.0931 – Bingo Authorized; Conditions for Conduct; Permitted Uses of Proceeds; Limitations

Home Games

You can host a private poker game or dominoes night at home without a license if three conditions are met: every player is at least 18, nobody profits from running the game itself (as opposed to winning it), and no player wins more than $10 in a single hand, round, or game.9Florida Gaming Control Commission. Frequently Asked Questions The $10 cap is strict. A friendly cash game with $50 buy-ins at a kitchen table crosses the line, even though enforcement against small private games is rare.

Minimum Age by Venue

The minimum gambling age depends on where you are:

The 21-year-old minimum at tribal casinos is set by tribal policy under the gaming compact, not by state statute.

Penalties for Illegal Gambling

Chapter 849 criminalizes unauthorized gambling. Placing a bet on a card game, roulette, or other game of chance in an unlicensed setting is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.11Justia. Florida Statutes Section 849.08 – Gambling12Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 775 Section 083 – Fines Keeping a gambling house under Section 849.01 is also a second-degree misdemeanor. Money at stake, gambling devices, winnings, and vehicles used to transport gambling materials can be seized and forfeited through civil proceedings.13Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 849

At the federal level, an illegal gambling business that violates state law, involves five or more people, and has operated more than 30 days or grossed $2,000 in a single day can be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. ยง 1955 as a felony carrying up to five years in prison.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1955 – Prohibition of Illegal Gambling Businesses Enforcement in Florida primarily targets unlicensed operations, illegal internet cafes posing as sweepstakes parlors, and large-scale bookmaking rings rather than individual bettors.

Coin-operated amusement machines with any element of chance face separate rules under Section 849.161. To avoid classification as an illegal gambling device, these machines can only award merchandise prizes worth no more than 75 cents per play.15Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 849 Section 161

Taxes on Gambling Winnings

All gambling winnings are taxable income under federal law, regardless of amount. Starting in 2026, casinos and other payers must issue a Form W-2G when winnings meet or exceed $2,000, up from the prior $600 threshold.16Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (Rev. January 2026) For pari-mutuel wagers and sports bets, the W-2G is triggered only when winnings hit that threshold and are at least 300 times the amount wagered.

When your winnings from sweepstakes, wagering pools, lotteries, or qualifying pari-mutuel and sports bets exceed $5,000, the payer must withhold 24 percent for federal income tax before paying you.17Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 Slot machines, bingo, and keno are exempt from automatic withholding, though the winnings are still taxable.

You can deduct gambling losses, but only if you itemize on Schedule A, and only up to the amount of gambling income you report. Losses cannot create a net deduction. The IRS expects you to keep a diary of your gambling activity along with receipts, tickets, and statements showing wins and losses.18Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 419, Gambling Income and Losses

Why the Rules Rarely Change

In 2018, Florida voters passed Amendment 3 with more than 71 percent support, giving themselves the exclusive authority to decide whether any new form of casino gambling can be introduced in the state. The legislature can no longer authorize casino gambling on its own, either by statute or by placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The only path to expansion is a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment that then wins a 60 percent supermajority.

As a practical matter, Amendment 3 has frozen the landscape. Even if a majority of legislators wanted to legalize online casinos, open new commercial casinos, or allow slot machines in additional counties, they cannot do it without voters first collecting enough signatures and then winning the supermajority. Any significant change in Florida gambling law is a years-long political campaign rather than a legislative session away.