Sports betting update and crackdown on adult arcades: Which forms of gambling are allowed and which are not in Florida?

In Florida, gambling can indeed be a gamble.

There is legal gambling. A portion of gambling is only permitted in specific locations, via particular procedures, and with strict guidelines. Additionally, gambling can result in fines and/or arrests, according to a recent article by C.A. Bridges of the Naples Daily News.

Adult arcades, also known as internet cafes, have recently been under increased scrutiny from local law enforcement because some of the games there have been found to offer cash prices, which is against the law, or to have broken Florida’s rigorous slot machine regulations. It was anticipated that St. Lucie County officers would seize more than 100 machines when they arrived at the Rio Arcade on Tuesday. More than $1 million in cash and gaming machines were seized in May when special agents from the Florida Gaming Control Commission and local law enforcement clamped down on arcades in Fort Pierce, Delray Beach, St. Petersburg, and Tampa.

Sports betting in Florida is still up in the air in the interim. In 2021, the Seminole Tribe and the state reached a multibillion-dollar, thirty-year agreement (referred to as a gaming compact) for internet sports betting on tribe territory. The agreement also allowed bettors from anywhere in the state to place bets via an app. After the pari-mutuel owners filed a lawsuit, claiming that the app violated federal law and would have a “significant and potentially devastating impact” on their operations, the Seminoles momentarily deployed the app before shutting it down.

Agreeing, a district court judge brokered the agreement. That ruling was overturned by an appeals court in June, and on Monday, the whole Washington appeals court rejected taking up the matter again. As a result, the decision made by the previous appeals panel three months ago is deemed final seven days following the last action of the Appeals Court. This means that, unless the group behind the lawsuit, West Flagler Associates, files another appeal with the Supreme Court or at the state level, the Seminole Tribe could start accepting bets on sports as early as Monday, September 18, according to GamingToday.com.

But how does gambling stand in Florida at the moment? What’s permitted and what’s not? Is it possible to get jailed for playing poker on Friday night? Although it’s complicated, we have solutions.

Which types of gaming are allowed in Florida right now?

Broadly speaking, Florida currently allows:

Some pari-mutuel gambling, including horse racing and cardrooms licensed by the state Casino gambling on lands belonging to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida State-run lotteries and interstate games such as the Powerball and Mega Millions Bingo, raffles and drawings of chance if run by a “charitable, nonprofit, or veterans’ organization”Small social games

For casino games, the minimum age to gamble is 21, whereas it is only 18 for lottery games, poker, bingo, and pari-mutuel wagering, which includes horse racing and jai alai.

The original article can be found on the Naples Daily News.

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