The Seminole Native American group in Florida has brought back mobile sports wagering in the Sunshine State with Hard Rock Bet.
The Seminole Tribe has reintroduced mobile sports betting in Florida. Gamblers can now get a sneak peek at online sports wagering in Florida through Hard Rock Bet, which is run by the Seminole Tribe. The early access is only accessible to players who have previously used the platform and qualified members of the Unity by Hard Rock loyalty program.
The tribe declared the relaunch of sports betting in Florida just a week ago. On December 7th, dice, roulette, and sports wagering will be introduced at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood, and Seminole Coconut Creek Casino.
These services will be launched at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa on December 8th.
On December 11th, the Seminole Immokalee Casino and Seminole Brighton Casino will go live.
On X (previously Twitter), Hard Rock Bet announced that early access is now available.
“Hard Rock Bet early access is now live in Florida!” the tweet stated. “Previous users of Hard Rock Bet Florida, including eligible Unity by Hard Rock loyalty program members, can now place bets.”
The next step is to launch…
The Seminole tribe observed a ray of hope in their sports wagering battle when the Supreme Court in October rejected a request for a temporary halt from West Flagler Associates, a pari-mutuel gambling company. While this didn’t pave the way for the Seminoles to initiate sports betting without opposition, it presented the tribe with a chance—one they seized fully.
Hard Rock Bet was already operational in Florida before 2021 when Governor Ron DeSantis authorized a gambling agreement permitting the Seminoles to exclusively provide sports betting within the state.
However, the agreement was suspended in December 2021 when a Washington, D.C. court determined it violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). This followed legal actions initiated by West Flagler and Bonita-Fort Myers, questioning whether offering sports betting through tribal servers was equivalent to gambling on tribal territory.
In September, West Flagler launched a legal challenge against DeSantis and the Florida legislature. The pari-mutuel gambling operator questioned whether DeSantis and the legislature had exceeded their respective powers in approving the 2021 gambling agreement.
West Flagler intensified its legal challenge in August 2023 by filing a request for a second hearing in a case it lost to Interior Secretary Debra Haaland in June 2023.
