HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – For the first time, it’s legal to gamble on sports in Florida and there’s only one place to play.
There was no word on when this would officially happen, but it turns out sports betting is now available and legal via the Hard Rock Sportsbook app.
Despite the lack of an official announcement, Florida’s Seminole Tribe went live with the Hard Rock Sportsbook app Monday, five days before a hearing in federal court seeking an injunction.
Under a compact negotiated last spring, the tribe has had the right to go live as early as Oct. 15, but hadn’t announced an official launch date.
Prior to the launch, the Seminole Tribe ran a rotation of ads promoting digital sports betting.
Sports betting is the key to the compact, which provides the ability to bet on a game, or a single play, from a person’s Android or iPhone device from anywhere in the state.
While some were against online sports betting app, in 2018 Florida voters approved Amendment 3, which prohibits the expansion of casino gambling everywhere except on tribal lands.
In the gambling compact, by putting the server on Seminole land, considered sovereign territory, it allows bets to placed from anywhere.
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