Gambling and Problem Gambling in Florida

Gambling & Problem Gambling in the Sunshine State

Gambling opportunities in Florida have rapidly increased throughout the years, as has the population. Florida currently ranks as one of the top three states in the country for both population and for consumer spending on gambling activities. Additionally, after rapid population increases, recent U.S. Census Bureau data reflects Florida as the nation’s fastest-growing state in the Country.¹ There continues to be a documented need for increased problem gambling services and supports in the State of Florida.

Florida’s Gambling Landscape

Florida has a long history of licensed, regulated gambling. In addition to pari-mutuel gambling, slot machine gambling is licensed in Broward and Miami-Dade counties at eligible pari-mutuel facilities. The Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) is the regulatory body that is responsible for exercising all governing and executive powers of the state with respect to gambling, including pari-mutuel wagering, cardrooms, slot machine facilities, oversight of gaming compacts, and other forms of gambling authorized by the State Constitution or law, excluding the state lottery. The Commission regulates certain legal forms of gambling in the State of Florida and enforces the state’s criminal gambling prohibitions. FGCC’s Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering regulates pari-mutuel racing and games, cardrooms, and slot machine gaming, and oversees the compact between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. FGCC’s Division of Law Enforcement targets illegal gambling activities occurring throughout the state.

In Florida, a variety of gambling activities are currently regulated and approved. These include:

• Pari-mutuel wagering on live and intertrack horse and jai-alai activities at licensed racetracks and jai-alai frontons.
• Casino gambling, including slots and multiple table games, on certain Indian tribal lands.
• Lottery games offered by the state.
• Poker and dominoes played for money, but only in a licensed cardroom.
• Penny-ante games including poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, and mahjong may be played outside a cardroom if the winnings of any player in a single game do not exceed $10 in value.
• Slot machine gaming at one of the eight licensed pari-mutuel facilities located in Miami-Dade or Broward counties.
• Bingo, sweepstakes, and drawings for chance, if they comply with state law.
• Online sports wagering.

Recent Developments Related to Gambling in Florida

• Florida Amendment 3, the Voter Approval of Casino Gambling Initiative, was on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018. It was approved. This amendment confirms that Florida voters shall have the exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling by requiring that in order for casino gambling to be authorized under Florida law, it must be approved by Florida voters pursuant to Article XI, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution. Under the measure, card games, casino games, and slot machines are considered casino gambling. Under the measure, pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing, dog racing, or jai alai exhibitions are not considered to be casino gambling. The measure did not have any impact on the ability of Native American tribes to enter into compacts with the state concerning casino gambling on tribal lands.

• Under Amendment 13, enacted January 1, 2021, it is now prohibited to offer live dog racing or to bet on any live dog racing occurring in the State of Florida. Pari-mutuel facilities will still have the option to accept wagers on simulcast races conducted elsewhere. The measure also stipulates that pari-mutuel facilities that no longer offer greyhound racing will still be eligible to offer other gaming activities authorized by the law.

• In May 2021, legislation authorizing land-based and mobile sports wagering was signed into law. The legislation ratified a new tribal-state gaming compact and created a new framework for legalizing sports wagering subject to operation by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. In addition, the House and Senate finalized their approval of a 50-page bill making several reforms to Florida gambling laws, including allowing 24-hour gaming at commercial facilities and permitting non-thoroughbred racetracks and jai alai frontons to continue offering slot machines or card games without hosting live racing or jai alai games. The 30-year historic compact also allowed for the addition of craps and roulette and the building of more tribal casinos.

• In March, 2022, Florida’s commercial casino gaming industry entered a new regulatory era when the newly established Florida Gaming Control Commission held its first official meeting. The independent agency was created through legislation alongside the new Seminole compact in 2021. Previously, Florida’s commercial racinos were overseen by a division within the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

• The State of Florida has just 16 total casinos – eight commercial casinos and eight tribal casinos. The economic impact from casinos in Florida was $7.55 billion. That ranked The Sunshine State fourth in the US and led to $1.56 billion of tax impact in 2023.

• On January 12, 2023, the Seminole Tribe announced that they plan to build a new hotel-casino northwest of Lake Okeechobee at their current Seminole Brighton Casino location. The complex will include the first hotel built on the Brighton Seminole Reservation. It will feature 100 guest rooms in a four-story building, totaling 72,000 square feet. The gaming area will include 640 slot machines and 18 tables for blackjack, craps, roulette, and other house-banked card games. Seminole Brighton Bay Hotel & Casino will replace the existing Seminole Casino Brighton and is set to open in early 2025.

• In August of 2023, Miccosukee tribe officials broke ground on the site of a new casino, which opened its doors on February 14, 2024. Located at the Miccosukee Service Plaza on I-75 and Snake Road in Ochopee, the new Miccosukee Little Trail Casino features an 8,500-square-foot entertainment space with 150 slot machines. As part of a multi-million- dollar expansion of the Miccosukee Tribe’s operations, the Everglades-themed facility also sells beer and wine.

• Florida regulators also took several steps in 2023 toward allowing cashless gaming in the state’s commercial casino gaming facilities. In September 2023, the Florida Gaming Control Commission hosted a formal workshop with stakeholders to map out specific regulations that would enable patrons at commercial gaming facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to fund electronic gaming devices via digital wallets. Formal regulatory changes are expected to be adopted in the near future.

• On November 7, 2023, online sports betting, which previously began in Florida for a brief period of time in 2021 until stopped by a Supreme Court ruling, was relaunched by the Seminole Tribe through its new Hard Rock Bet mobile sports betting app, making it the only legal online sportsbook in the state. Everywhere else, customers have a wide variety of sports wagering options. The Seminole Compact contains exclusivity for the Tribe to offer statewide online sports betting through servers located on tribal lands. Wagers are permitted on any professional or collegiate sport available. There are no restrictions on in-state colleges. There are very few restrictions at all when it comes to Florida sports betting.

• On December 5, 2023, Florida made history as it became the 37th – and largest – state to offer sports betting in casinos, with craps, roulette, and sports betting becoming available at three Seminole casinos in South Florida starting on December 7th. The games were live at all six of the Tribe’s casinos by December 11th. Florida’s gaming compact, which allows for the expansion of casino games on tribal land, also legalizes online sports betting in Florida, to be controlled exclusively by the Tribe, with profit-sharing opportunities to be negotiated with pari-mutuels such as jai alai frontons, horse tracks, and cardrooms to participate in the new venture.

• Finally, there were updates to the federal regulations on Indian gaming compacts in early 2024 that could affect Florida’s chances of adding online casinos. The most notable change is that the Bureau of Indian Affairs will now approve gaming compacts, including online wagering outside of tribal lands. That means the federal government recognizes Florida’s hub-and-spoke model for online sports betting as an acceptable method for Class III gaming compacts. These changes went into effect on March 22, 2024.

Gambling Among Adults in Florida

• One way to measure the extent of gambling in Florida is to examine annual revenues generated by industry operations. However, it’s important to note that these figures do not account for money gambled through illegal, non-licensed gambling operators. During 2023, total statewide commercial casino gambling revenues from state-regulated racinos/casinos amounted to $690.883 million [AGA, 2024]. The Seminole Tribe of Florida, which does not have to publicize its gambling revenues, oversees 6 tribal casinos in the state and effective November 2023, operates Florida’s only legal online sportsbook, Hard Rock Bet. Hard Rock Bet’s monopoly on sports betting in Florida has helped the sportsbook become a Top 5 operator nationally. [Play Fl, 2023]. Hard Rock’s Florida handle and revenue numbers haven’t been made publicly available, but reports surfaced in March that Florida’s share of 2024 sports betting revenue since November 2023’s soft launch was already at $120 million. Under terms of its compact with the Seminoles, Florida receives 10% of Hard Rock Bet’s statewide revenue [Play Fl, 2024]. The revenues generated by the one remaining tribal facility, operated by the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida, were not available. Further, in 2023 the Florida Lottery ranked first in the country in overall ticket sales, with record sales of $9.8 billion [Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, 2024].

• In 2018, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) commissioned IPSOS, one of the world’s largest public opinion companies, to conduct a U.S. national consumer study to examine gambling attitudes and gambling experiences across America (NGAGE), indicating America’s love of gambling. In 2021 a follow-up survey (NGAGE 2.0) indicated that 79% of adult Floridians reported gambling or placing a bet during the past year (compared to only 73% on a national level). Additionally, more adults in Florida were found to have gambled on every form of legalized gambling in the state than the national average. The average Florida gambler bets on 6 different activities, with almost half (49%) reporting wagering on 7 or more different gambling activities (however, please note that this survey was conducted prior to the expansion of regulated casino games and sports wagering). The lottery remains the most popular form of gambling in Florida, with almost three quarters of survey respondents (74%) reporting a past year lottery purchase. More than one-third of the sample reported spending money at a casino.

• The results of both studies revealed that Florida was among the 12 states with the highest levels of gambling reported nationwide. Past-year gambling by both males and females exceeded the national average in spite of the lack of legalized professional and collegiate sports wagering. Nevertheless, while professional and collegiate sports wagering were not readily available in the state at the time the survey was conducted, 33% of survey participants reported placing bets on traditional sports and 14% indicated wagering on fantasy sports, with a considerable number betting amongst friends, with online sportsbooks, at “brick and mortar” sportsbooks outside the state, and/or with local bookies/bookmakers. Of importance was that 57% of Floridians believed that if Florida was to legalize sports wagering, it would be important to establish dedicated revenues for increased public awareness about problem gambling.

Disordered Gambling Among Adults in Florida

• Gambling Disorder is a psychiatric condition with a behavioral addiction diagnosis, introduced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM-5), and recognized as a diagnosable and treatable illness by the American Psychiatric Association.

• Per the latest prevalence study within the state of Florida,² it is estimated that over 200,000 Floridians suffer from past-year gambling problems (i.e. problem and pathological³ gamblers) and 700,000 more are at risk of developing such difficulties, constituting 4.7% of the adult population ages 18 and older. Florida’s at-risk population is also greater than the national at-risk prevalence rate. It is further important to note that these statistics do not account for youth, who are increasingly and deceptively exposed to gambling concepts, nor do they account for the estimated 1.5 million loved ones adversely affected (i.e. for each problem gambler, 8-10 others are adversely impacted). These results all point to the importance of the FCCG’s 888-ADMIT-IT HelpLine as an essential support for problem gamblers, their families, and the mental health community.

• Expansion of gambling opportunities in Florida necessitates an associated increase in problem gambling programming, services, supports, and funding to lessen, to the extent possible, the resulting negative impacts caused by compulsive and addictive gambling and experienced by a percentage of the population. We must acknowledge the increasing potential for persons in the State of Florida to develop compulsive and addictive gambling behaviors as a result of increasing participation in available gambling opportunities. 

Florida’s 24/7 Problem Gambling HelpLine – 888-ADMIT-IT

• Annually, the FCCG receives thousands of contacts from gamblers and loved ones seeking help for problems due to excessive/problematic gambling. The methods of contact to the HelpLine and the types of individuals seeking assistance vary widely. The 888-ADMIT-IT confidential and multilingual HelpLine is accessible via telephone call, text, live chat, email, or on social media and offers comprehensive support and resource referral services to anyone in the State of Florida experiencing the impacts of problem gambling. Contacts received regularly include persons who are unemployed, homeless, experiencing mental health issues, undergoing a divorce, facing financial devastation, and/or are struggling with legal consequences – among other impacts – resulting from their own or a loved one’s gambling problem. Yet, they all share one common theme – they are seeking immediate relief and support. Each person reaching out for help is seeking some type of information and/or guidance to help get their lives back on track, to understand how to cope with presenting impacts, and/or where to obtain professional counseling, self-help supports, or other critical services. The FCCG’s HelpLine Specialists receive ongoing training and routinely respond to these contacts, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year.

• Over the last 20 years, the number of Floridians seeking problem gambling help or information through the 888-ADMIT-IT HelpLine have exponentially increased by 583%.⁴ According to the National Association of Administers for Disordered Gambling Services (NAADGS) “2021 Survey of Publicly Funded Problem Gambling Services in the United States”, a report which presents the most comprehensive compilation of information on publicly funded problem gambling services in the United States, Florida ranked #1 in the Country for total number of help contacts received to the 888-ADMIT-IT Problem Gambling HelpLine (out of the 28 states reporting 2021 Helpline data). 

About the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, Inc.

• The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, Inc. (FCCG) has a longstanding history in the state and three decades of experience in the gambling addiction field. The FCCG is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) independent corporation whose primary mission is to:
  
  • Increase public awareness regarding the risks and consequences associated with gambling;
  • Provide referral assistance to problem gamblers, their families, and others adversely affected;
  • Advocate for problem gambling programs, services, and other supports to address population-specific needs. 

• The FCCG operates the 24-hour confidential and multilingual Problem Gambling HelpLine, 888-ADMIT-IT, where problem gambling help, information, programs, literature, supportive intervention, referrals, resources, and a breadth of related supports are provided to Florida citizens in need of help with a gambling problem, 24 hours per day, 365 days of the year.

• In addition to operating the HelpLine, the FCCG also provides expert training for gambling industry operators, mental health treatment providers, and others interested in reducing gambling-related harms. The FCCG’s outreach and awareness programs assure gamblers, their families, and others adversely impacted that the 888-ADMIT-IT HelpLine serves as the one-stop resource in Florida to obtain the help needed to recover from a gambling disorder and resume a healthier lifestyle.

• The FCCG maintains a neutral stance on the issue of legalized gambling while also seeking to assist citizens in need of problem gambling specific supports.

The FCCG is also a recipient of national recognition for its program development and achievements throughout the years in the problem gambling field. The FCCG has been awarded the National Volunteer of the Decade Award (1990 – 2000), the Herman Goldman Award (2002), the Distinguished Program Award (2002 and 2008), and the Msgr. Joseph Dunne Award (2013).

[1] U.S. Census Bureau 2022 Population Report (Perry, Rogers, & Wilder 2022).
[2] Gambling and Problem Gambling Prevalence among Adults in Florida:  A 2011 Replication, A Report for the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, Rotunda, R. and Schell, T., January 2012.
[3] Prior to 2013, disordered gambling was termed pathological gambling by the American Psychiatric Association and classified as an impulsive control disorder.    
[4] 24-Hour 888-ADMIT-IT Problem Gambling HelpLine Annual Report (February 5, 2023).