Florida Gambling Laws: Indian Casinos, Online Betting, and Sweepstakes

The short version

Some gambling is legal, and a lot of storefront gambling is not. The Florida Gaming Control Commission lists licensed horse racing and jai alai, casino games on certain Indian tribal lands, the Florida Lottery, licensed cardrooms, a narrow penny-ante exception, slots at eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade or Broward, and bingo, sweepstakes, and drawings that comply with state law.
Hard Rock Bet is the sportsbook the commission names. A September 14, 2026 commission release says Hard Rock Bet is the only legal sportsbook operating in Florida, and participants must be at least 21.
The name on the door does not decide the machine. Section 849.16 defines a slot machine to include devices that take money, a code, or other information, pay value or extra chances, offer free play, sell merchandise, or sit inside a scheme of payments or donations and prizes.
A sweepstakes filing is not a casino license. Section 849.094 says compliance with Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services rules does not authorize a slot machine and is not a defense to a slot-machine charge.
An open business is not proof the business is legal. A seizure, a notice to appear, an arrest, and a filed lawsuit are not convictions.

The commission says penalties under Chapter 849 range from misdemeanors to felonies. Report a site at 850-880-3433, Tipline@FLGaming.gov, or the report form.

Licensed locations map File a report Commission FAQ

What the commission says can be legal

The Florida Gaming Control Commission regulates pari-mutuel wagering, cardrooms, and slot machines at licensed facilities. Its FAQ, opened for this page, describes the activities it treats as legal.

Activity	Where the commission says it can be legal
Pari-mutuel wagering	Live and intertrack horse racing and jai alai at licensed tracks and frontons.
Casino gambling	Slots and table games on certain Indian tribal lands.
Florida Lottery	The state lottery.
Poker and dominoes for money	Licensed cardrooms.
Penny-ante games	Outside a cardroom, only when the winnings of any player in a single game do not exceed $10, and only under section 849.085.
Slot machines	One of eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade or Broward, and certain Indian tribal facilities.
Bingo, sweepstakes, and drawings	When they comply with state law.

The same FAQ says opening a new legal gambling business is generally prohibited. Florida's constitution gives voters a citizen-initiative role in authorizing casino gambling. That provision left already-authorized gambling in place.

On the commission's locations map, the greyhound filter is marked "No live racing; intertrack/simulcast only." The map filters are Card Room, Greyhound, Harness, Indian Gaming, Jai Alai, Quarter Horse, Slots, Thoroughbred, and Other License.

Paying tax on gambling winnings does not make the gambling legal.

Indian casinos and tribal gaming

The commission's FAQ names two tribal operators among Florida's legal gaming facilities: the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. It says casino gambling, including slots and table games, can be legal on certain Indian tribal lands.

A February 3, 2025 commission release counted fourteen legal slot-machine businesses: eight state-licensed slot businesses and six Seminole tribal gaming locations. The FAQ names the Miccosukee Tribe as a legal gaming facility. That February count of fourteen did not add Miccosukee into the fourteen.

The commission describes casino games, including slots and table games, on certain Indian tribal lands. That description covers the tribal facility. It does not license a slot machine in a store, bar, gas station, restaurant, or arcade.

Sports wagering, in the commission's September 2026 wording, may be offered through sportsbooks operated by or in conjunction with the Seminole Tribe. The September 14, 2026 release names Hard Rock Bet as the only legal sportsbook operating in Florida.

This Is Florida has hotel pages for Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa. Those pages are hotel listings. They are not a list of every game a tribe may offer, and they are not the commission's six-location count.

The current facility list is the commission's locations map, filtered to Indian Gaming.

Slot machines

The commission says slot machines are legal only at the eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward and at certain Indian tribal facilities. It says slot machines are illegal at bars, restaurants, gas stations, and adult arcades.

A December 30, 2025 commission release says the same thing in enforcement terms: it is against the law to offer slot machines or unauthorized gambling at an unlicensed facility. That release reported calendar-year 2025 seizures of $14,474,336 and 6,725 illegal slot machines, compared with 2024 seizures of $7,110,613 and 1,287 machines, and 29 new memorandums of understanding.

What the statute calls a slot machine

Section 849.16 says a slot machine or device is any machine, device, system, or network of devices adapted so that, upon activation, the user may receive something of value or secure additional chances to use it. Activation includes insertion of money, a coin, an account number, a code, or other object or information. The outcome can be by skill, by chance, or any outcome unpredictable by the user.

The thing of value can be money, credit, an allowance, or a check, slug, token, or memorandum that can be exchanged for value or given in trade. Additional chances or rights to use the device count too. The definition still applies when the device is available for free play, and when it also sells merchandise, gives an indication of weight, provides entertainment, or provides some other thing of value. It includes devices regulated as slot machines under Chapter 551.

Subsection (3) creates a rebuttable presumption that a device, system, or network is a prohibited slot machine when it displays images of games of chance and is part of a scheme that involves any payment or donation of money or its equivalent and awarding anything of value.

The same section says a reverse vending machine is not a slot machine. That exception is for a machine that takes empty beverage containers for recycling and payment, and that may award an occasional random bonus. The deposit of the container is not consideration.

Merchandise, free play, and a donation do not take a device out of section 849.16. A skill label on the cabinet does not take it out either. The statute covers skill, chance, and an outcome the user cannot predict.

The 85 percent figure

The commission's FAQ says Chapter 551 requires an FGCC-licensed slot facility to maintain a payout of no less than 85 percent, and that the Seminole compact requires Seminole slot machines to pay no less than 85 percent. That is a facility requirement. The FAQ says the historical payout is higher than that floor. The 85 percent figure is not a promise that a player gets 85 cents back from one session.

Two state slot licenses opened for this page

The locations map is the commission's facility list. These two license records were opened for this page. They are examples of state slot licenses in Broward County. They are not a complete list of the eight.

License	Business and address	What the record says
SM274	The Casino @ Dania Beach, 301 East Dania Beach Boulevard, Dania, FL 33004. Dania Entertainment Center, LLC.	Broward jai-alai permit. Voter referendum March 8, 2005. Slot license term November 9, 2026 through November 8, 2027. Granted November 2026 by Alana Zimmer.
SM144	The Big Easy Casino, 831 North Federal Highway, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009. 831 Federal Highway Acquisition, LLC.	Greyhound permit. License term June 11, 2026 through June 10, 2027.

The commission's FAQ says a new slot license is limited to a pari-mutuel permit holder that held an operating license for pari-mutuel wagering for fiscal year 2020-2021, and to Miami-Dade or Broward. A business in another county does not get a state slot license by filing an ordinary application.

Cardrooms and private poker

The commission says poker and dominoes may be played for money in a licensed cardroom. Cardrooms may offer Texas Hold 'em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, and other poker variations played in a designated-player manner, plus tournaments. The FAQ says Florida law does not contain a process to submit a new card game for approval.

Only a pari-mutuel permit holder that held an operating license for pari-mutuel wagering for fiscal year 2020-2021 may hold a cardroom license.

Outside a licensed cardroom, the private-game rule is the penny-ante statute. The FAQ says players must be at least 18, no one may profit from running the game, and the winnings in a single hand, round, or game may not exceed $10. Taking a percentage of the pot is illegal unless the game is in a licensed cardroom.

Penny-ante games at home

Section 849.085 says it is not a crime to participate in a penny-ante game conducted strictly under that section. A penny-ante game means poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, or mah-jongg in which the winnings of any player in a single round, hand, or game do not exceed $10 in value.

The $10 cap is on winnings in one round, hand, or game. The listed games are the eight games in the statute. Football squares are not on that list.

The restrictions in subsection (3) are:

The game must be conducted in a dwelling.
A person may not receive any consideration or commission for allowing the game in that dwelling.
A person may not directly or indirectly charge admission or any other fee for participation.
A person may not solicit participants by advertising in any form, advertise the time or place of the game, or advertise that he or she will play.
No participant may be under 18 years of age.

A dwelling, in that section, means residential premises a participant owns or rents and occupies. It also means the common elements or common areas of a condominium, cooperative, residential subdivision, or mobile home park when a participant is a unit owner. It includes the facilities of an organization that is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code, a college dormitory room, the common recreational area of a college dormitory, and a publicly owned community center owned by a municipality or county.

A debt created or owed because of a penny-ante game is not legally enforceable. Conducting the game in those common areas, in an eligible organization's dwelling, or in a public community center creates no civil liability for damages from the game on the part of the association, the dwelling owner, the city or county, or a unit owner who was not a participant.

Sports betting and fantasy sports

The commission's September 14, 2026 release says: "The state of Florida legalized online sports betting through the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock Bet platform in 2023. Hard Rock Bet is the only legal sportsbook operating in Florida, and participants must be at least 21 years old."

A companion September 3, 2026 commission statement says that under the 2021 Gaming Compact, sports wagering may be offered through sportsbooks operated by or in conjunction with the Seminole Tribe, that individuals must be at least 21, and that wagers placed in Florida through other online sportsbooks are most likely illegal. The February 3, 2025 cease-and-desist release uses the same "only" line: the only online sportsbook operating lawfully in Florida is the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock Bet.

The FAQ says sports wagers are generally unavailable unless they go through sportsbooks operated by or in conjunction with the Seminole Tribe. Otherwise they are most likely illegal. An app that holds a license in another state, or an app that a phone can open in Florida, is not Florida authorization.

The same FAQ uses "probably not" and "most likely" for paid fantasy sports, unless the play is through that Seminole arrangement. This page keeps the commission's words. It does not sort every fantasy app into a legal pile or an illegal pile.

The September 14, 2026 release points people who want help with gambling to the Playwise helpline, 1-833-752-9947 (1-833-PLAYWISE), or Playwise.org. The release says the line is free and confidential.

Offshore and other internet gambling

On February 3, 2025, the commission announced cease-and-desist letters to three overseas operators:

Milvus Ltc, doing business as BetUS.com.pa
Harp Media B.V., doing business as Bovada.lv
Gaming Services Provider, N.V., doing business as MyBookie.ag

The release says the conduct is not limited to sports and horse racing. Those sites also offer casino games. The release says the only online sportsbook operating lawfully in Florida is the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock Bet.

Cruise ships

The commission says it does not regulate "cruises to nowhere." Gambling cruise vessels cannot offer casino-style games while in Florida state waters.

Sweepstakes, game promotions, and online "casinos"

Section 849.094 covers a game promotion: a contest, game of chance, sweepstakes, or gift enterprise, conducted by an operator in connection with and incidental to the sale of consumer products or services, and involving chance and a prize. The section says it does not apply to bingo under section 849.0931.

It is unlawful for an operator to predetermine or rig winners, arbitrarily reject entries, fail to award prizes, use false advertising, or require an entry fee, a payment, or proof of purchase as a condition of entering.

When the total announced value of the prizes is greater than $5,000, the operator must:

File the rules and a prize list with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at least 7 days before the promotion starts.
Pay a $100 nonrefundable filing fee.
Post the rules.
File, at least 7 days ahead, a trust account or a surety bond equal to the total prize value.
File a winner list, for prizes over $25, within 60 days.

Section 849.094(8)(b) says: "Compliance with the rules of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services does not authorize and is not a defense to a charge of possession of a slot machine or device or any other device or a violation of any other law."

A violation is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable as provided in section 775.082 or section 775.083. Subsection (9)(b) also sets a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 per violation, recoverable by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or the Department of Legal Affairs. A violation is also a deceptive or unfair practice under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The section does not apply to actions regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or the Florida Gaming Control Commission, to nonprofit organizations, or to organizations that are not selling consumer products or services.

The Attorney General's 2026 lawsuits

On August 19, 2026, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced two lawsuits filed that day in Hillsborough County Circuit Court against operators of major online sweepstakes casinos, and against payment processors. The named operators include Sweepsteaks Ltd., doing business as Stake.us, and VGW's Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker. The Stake complaint was e-filed that morning as Filing Number 255162092.

The complaints allege illegal online gambling and violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. They describe a dual-currency model: packages of Gold Coins bundled with Stake Cash or Sweeps Coins.

The Attorney General said: "If it looks like a casino, takes real money like a casino, and pays out like a casino, it is a casino—and it is illegal under Florida law."

Those sentences are allegations in filed complaints. They are not judgments. A case that has been filed has not been won.

Internet cafes, adult arcades, and bingo labels

People use the names internet cafe, adult arcade, fish table, and instant bingo for machines in storefronts. The test in the opened statute is section 849.16, not the word on the window. The commission's red flags are slot-like devices outside Miami-Dade and Broward or outside certain tribal facilities, a missing commission license, cash prizes, no oversight, and a facility offering sports betting.

On August 17, 2026, the commission and the Cape Coral Police Department announced Operation Going Downtown. The release says they seized 60 illegal slot machines at Uptown Bingo, 2708 Santa Barbara Boulevard, Suite 108, Cape Coral. Commissioner Peter Cuderman said that labeling slot machines as bingo or instant bingo does not make them legal. The release says bingo with paid participation and prizes must comply with Florida law, and that Floridians aged 18 or older may legally play bingo, including instant bingo, when the game is played using paper cards.

A seizure is the taking of the machines. It is not a conviction.

Ages written in the sources opened for this page

Activity	Age	Source
Sports betting through the Seminole arrangement, including Hard Rock Bet	21	Florida Gaming Control Commission, September 14, 2026, and the September 3, 2026 compact statement
Penny-ante game participant	18	Section 849.085 and the commission FAQ
Paper bingo, including instant bingo	18	Florida Gaming Control Commission release, August 17, 2026

These are the ages printed in the statute and the commission releases opened for this page.

How to check a business

Open the commission's locations map and filter by Card Room, Slots, Indian Gaming, or the pari-mutuel type.
Ask the business for its Florida Gaming Control Commission license. A state slot license belongs to a licensed pari-mutuel facility in Miami-Dade or Broward. A tribal facility is a tribal facility.
Treat a slot-like device in a bar, restaurant, gas station, internet cafe, or adult arcade as one of the commission's red flags, along with cash prizes, no oversight, and sports betting offered outside the Seminole arrangement.
Remember that a business can be open, lit, and taking customers while the machines are illegal.

To report a site, call 850-880-3433, email Tipline@FLGaming.gov, or use flgaming.gov/file-a-report/.

Open the locations map File a report

Enforcement the state has published

The figures in this section are the figures printed in the official release. A seizure, a notice to appear, an arrest, or a filed complaint is not a conviction.

Date	What the release says
February 3, 2025	Cease-and-desist letters to BetUS, Bovada, and MyBookie. The release counted eight state-licensed slot businesses and six Seminole locations, fourteen legal slot-machine businesses in that release's words.
December 30, 2025	Calendar-year 2025 seizures of $14,474,336 and 6,725 illegal slot machines. The 2024 comparison in that release was $7,110,613 and 1,287 machines. The release also reported 29 new memorandums of understanding.
February 27, 2026	Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a seizure of 525 illegal machines and $190,000 across 39 locations in Volusia, Brevard, Duval, and Flagler counties. The release called the figures preliminary. Machines came from restaurants, bars, gas stations, sham arcades, and standalone illegal casinos, including some unmarked sites and some presented as nail salons or beauty supply stores. Named machine types: stand-up slots, PC slots, tabletop, coin-push, and fish tables.
June 10, 2026	A multi-day operation in Lee and Collier counties: 479 illegal machines, $294,150, and 11 arrests, with the commission, the Office of Statewide Prosecution, and the Collier and Lee sheriffs. The same release says that since the beginning of 2026 the Attorney General and the commission had led a statewide crackdown seizing 3,114 illegal machines and $1.7 million, and arresting 81 individuals.
August 17, 2026	Operation Going Downtown, with Cape Coral Police: 60 illegal slot machines seized at Uptown Bingo, 2708 Santa Barbara Boulevard, Suite 108, Cape Coral.
August 19, 2026	Two Hillsborough County lawsuits alleging illegal online sweepstakes casinos, including Stake, Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker.
September 15, 2026	Operation Final Spin. A September 10 search warrant with the Pinellas County Sheriff, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco. Action Arcade, 6541 54th Avenue North, St. Petersburg: 90 machines and $142,020. Two people were issued notices to appear, each on one count of possession of slot machines and one count of keeping a gambling house. The Zoo Sports Club and Grille, 5111 66th Street North: 73 machines and $105,265. One person was issued a notice to appear for possession of slot machines and for being an agent or employee of a gambling house. Combined: 163 machines and $247,285.

The September 15 release names Vice Chair Tina Repp and Representative Berny Jacques as participants. The machine and cash totals used here are the release's totals, $247,285 and 163 machines.

The February 27, 2026 release says the Attorney General has urged the Legislature to increase the penalty for keeping a gambling house to a felony. That sentence is a request to the Legislature.

The June 10 release reports arrests. An arrest is not a conviction. The September 15 release reports notices to appear. A notice to appear is not a conviction.

Questions

What gambling can be legal in Florida?

The Florida Gaming Control Commission says legal activities include pari-mutuel wagering on live and intertrack horse racing and jai alai at licensed tracks and frontons; casino gambling, including slots and table games, on certain Indian tribal lands; the Florida Lottery; poker and dominoes for money in licensed cardrooms; penny-ante games outside a cardroom only when the winnings of any player in a single game do not exceed $10; slot machines at one of eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade or Broward; and bingo, sweepstakes, and drawings when they comply with state law. The commission says opening a new legal gambling business is generally prohibited.

Are Seminole and Miccosukee casinos legal?

The commission names the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida among the legal gaming facilities. A February 3, 2025 commission release counted six Seminole tribal gaming locations among fourteen legal slot-machine businesses, together with eight state-licensed slot businesses. The FAQ names Miccosukee as a legal gaming facility. That February count did not add Miccosukee into the fourteen. The commission describes casino games on certain Indian tribal lands. That description is the tribal facility. It does not license a slot machine in a store, bar, gas station, or arcade.

Where can I legally bet on sports in Florida?

The commission's September 14, 2026 release says Florida legalized online sports betting through the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock Bet platform in 2023, that Hard Rock Bet is the only legal sportsbook operating in Florida, and that participants must be at least 21. The commission says wagers placed in Florida through other online sportsbooks are most likely illegal.

Does a license from another state make an online sportsbook legal in Florida?

No. The commission says an app licensed in another state, or an app that can be opened in Florida, is not Florida authorization.

What is a legal penny-ante game?

Section 849.085 defines a penny-ante game as poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, or mah-jongg in which the winnings of any player in a single round, hand, or game do not exceed $10. The game must be in a dwelling, as that section defines a dwelling. No one may be paid to host it, charge a fee, or advertise it. No participant may be under 18. A debt from the game is not legally enforceable.

Does filing a sweepstakes with the Department of Agriculture make a casino legal?

No. Section 849.094 says compliance with the rules of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services does not authorize, and is not a defense to, a charge of possession of a slot machine or device or any other device, or a violation of any other law. When the announced prize value is greater than $5,000, the operator files rules and a prize list at least 7 days ahead and pays a $100 nonrefundable filing fee. The section also sets a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 per violation.

Are Stake, Chumba, LuckyLand, and Global Poker legal in Florida?

On August 19, 2026, Attorney General James Uthmeier filed lawsuits in Hillsborough County Circuit Court alleging that operators of online sweepstakes casinos, including Stake and VGW's Chumba Casino, LuckyLand, and Global Poker, were running illegal online gambling. Those filings are allegations. They are not judgments.

Can a bar, gas station, or arcade have slot machines?

The commission says slot machines are legal only at the eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward and at certain Indian tribal facilities. Slot machines at bars, restaurants, gas stations, and adult arcades are illegal. Section 849.16 defines a slot machine broadly, including a device that also sells merchandise, offers free play, or takes a donation.

Does a bingo sign make a slot machine legal?

The commission's August 17, 2026 release says labeling slot machines as bingo or instant bingo does not make them legal. The same release says Floridians aged 18 or older may legally play bingo, including instant bingo, when the game is played using paper cards, and that bingo with paid participation and prizes must comply with Florida law.

How do I check a gambling business?

Use the commission's locations map at flgaming.gov/locations and ask for the Florida Gaming Control Commission license. A business that is open is not proof that it is legal. To report a site, call 850-880-3433, email Tipline@FLGaming.gov, or use the commission's report form.

Are paid fantasy sports legal in Florida?

The commission says paid fantasy sports are probably not legal, and are most likely illegal, unless the play is through a sportsbook operated by or in conjunction with the Seminole Tribe.

What is the rule for a cruise-ship casino in Florida waters?

The commission does not regulate cruises to nowhere. Gambling cruise vessels cannot offer casino-style games while in Florida state waters.

Sources

Checked November 6, 2026, against the 2026 Florida Statutes on the Florida Senate site, the Florida Gaming Control Commission pages linked here, and the Attorney General releases linked here.

The statutes and the official releases control. This page reports the sections and the official pages opened on November 6, 2026.

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