Nicole Johnston
Sports betting and casino games in Florida are booming. According to the latest statistics from the American Gaming Association, the Sunshine State’s gaming enthusiasts help over 15 licensed casinos and sports betting establishments rake in more than $687 million a year. To ensure safe and enjoyable play, Florida currently regulates activities like horse racing and sports betting while limiting others, like slots.
Because of popular demand, the state is also starting to regulate the digital versions of these activities—also known as iGaming—to further extend the reach of player protections. Just last year, the Seminole Tribe became the sole legal provider of online sports betting in Florida, making its Hard Rock Bet app the only place in the state to wager remotely.
Given these recent developments, making similar changes for poker is arguably the next logical step. After all, Florida already regulates live poker games at licensed cardrooms. However, the same currently can’t be said for online poker—despite the fact that it makes sense to legalize it here. Below are a few reasons why:
Trusted options are already widely available
Internet safety is a particularly strong concern in Florida, where even reputable organizations like the state’s Department of Health fall victim to significant data breaches—and proposals for solutions can be delayed by a few months. Since online poker games are often played for real money, enthusiasts need to link sensitive information, like their bank details, to their accounts, potentially making their data and funds vulnerable to cyberattacks. The reason why it makes sense to legalize online poker in Florida amid this environment is that today’s operators are always one step ahead of cybersecurity threats. Since many of them are internationally regulated, these trusted options are also already widely available in the state.
Americas Cardroom, which is currently a top choice among Floridians and is considered the #1 US poker site, shows how stringent the security measures involved can be. Player accounts receive protection via both two-factor authentication and SSL encryption. The site is also among the only ones in the industry to not just facilitate cryptocurrency transactions, but also accept over 60 different tokens, making it easier to conduct faster, more secure, and even anonymous deposits and withdrawals that further keep player funds safe. These comprehensive efforts illustrate how cybersecurity need not be a pressing concern when legalizing online poker, making it an even more sensible move given the following benefits.
Florida’s live poker scene hints at high demand
The demand for live poker in the Sunshine State can justify the legalization of its online counterpart, as doing so would give Floridians even more options to partake in their favorite card game. Florida boasts a particularly vibrant live poker scene: aside from enjoying private home games, poker enthusiasts can play at a number of licensed poker rooms and casinos, including bestbet Jacksonville, Club 52, and the Coconut Creek Casino. Perhaps more crucially, however, these venues often host a number of prestigious tournaments that record high attendance rates. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino alone entertains some of the most popular tournaments—not just in Florida, but across the US and beyond—and the demand for these events became especially apparent when it partnered with the highly-regarded World Poker Tour in 2023.
The resulting Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open, which offered a prize pool of over $3 million, attracted players from all over the world and was even won by Hungarian player Istvan Briski. The series’ opening event alone attracted more than 7,500 participants, which is the second-largest number in Florida poker history. Of course, plenty of Floridians were in attendance as well. Three of them even made it to the final table and finished in third, fourth, and sixth place, respectively. Given how many people in the state already avidly play poker, it would make sense to start regulating it online, especially since doing so has something to offer the local government as well.
The state government has a lot to gain
Florida already generates tax revenue from entertainment-focused entities, including theme parks like Universal. Given the state’s large player base and the current availability of reputable providers, legalizing online poker would give it yet another source of income. This wouldn’t be the first time Florida has earned money from iGaming, either. In fact, the aforementioned 2021 gaming compact promised it a part of the Seminole Tribe’s proceeds from the activity. Just last year, this share amounted to over $120 million, and it’s expected to hit $4.4 billion by the end of the decade. In April 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis even signed a bill allocating $750 million to preserving Florida’s natural waterways, with funding coming solely from the Seminole Tribe’s gaming compact.
It would thus make sense for the state to set up a similar arrangement after legalizing online poker, ensuring that the activity can benefit both poker enthusiasts and Florida as a whole. It can even maximize tax revenue by joining additional compacts like the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, which would widen the state’s online poker player pool. Connecticut, which recently joined the agreement alongside the likes of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, shows how beneficial such a move can be. It now expects to generate additional tax revenues of up to $600,000 from online poker alone in 2026.
Legalizing online poker in Florida could ultimately be the next logical step after regulating online sports betting. Given the wide availability of safe and reliable providers, the current high demand for poker in the state, and the activity’s potential for generating tax revenue, there are quite a few benefits to the move that Florida’s gaming regulators can consider.
Comments