Once a clandestine enterprise conducted by shady bookies or in illegal gambling dens, today’s sports betting industry is about celebrities, entertainment and the pursuit of quick financial gain. Sports betting generated an estimated $7.56 billion in revenue in 2022, according to Statista Research Department. Now Florida is finally getting a piece of the action.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida celebrated “A New Era in Florida Gaming” last month with a star-studded daylong event to highlight the launch of craps, roulette and sports betting at all six Seminole-operated casinos, including the one in the gleaming guitar-shaped, 450-foot hotel visible for miles along I-95 in Hollywood.
(George Willis for Biscayne Times)
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson waiting to place his first sports bet at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Game and chair of Hard Rock International told the Biscayne Times, “It’s a great day for the tribe. Obviously, launching craps and roulettes and sports betting is amazing.”
The 2021 Gaming Compact between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the tribe’s chair, Marcellus Osceola Jr. It allows the tribe to develop mobile and in-person sports betting along with roulette and craps. It also provides “substantial exclusivity for such activities in return for a reasonable revenue sharing arrangement between the Tribe and the State.”
The Seminoles pledged to pay Florida an estimated $20 billion. That’s a long way from 1979, when the Florida Seminoles opened the first tribally operated high-stakes bingo hall in North America. The budget at that time, according to the book “High Stakes: Florida Seminole Gaming and Sovereignty,” by Jessica Cattelino, was $2 million.
(George Willis for Biscayne Times)
Customers crowding around the craps table at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Lawsuits filed by other betting apps to suspend the agreement put everything on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court ruled last month against suspending the compact while the cases continue. As of this writing, the courts offered no further decisions. Whether the Seminole Tribe can maintain its exclusivity on sports betting live and through its app remains to be seen, but certainly sports betting – along with roulette and craps tables – are proceeding as if they are here to stay.
The tribe and its Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood put the exclamation point on their intentions with a star-studded sports betting debut. Former Heat star Dwyane Wade put in serious work on the craps table while singer Gloria Estefan tried her luck at roulette. College football coach Ed Orgeron, Sports Illustrated model Brooks Nader, rapper and record executive Rick Ross and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson placed the first live sports bets, while a host of other athletes, models, entertainers, actors, influencers, politicians and tribal leaders celebrated the occasion by toasting the evening with a pool party.
(George Willis for Biscayne Times)
Sports betting is available in Florida on the Hard Rock Bet app.
A plethora of sports betting sites have emerged in recent years. DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM are among the most popular. Betting apps are available in some form in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, as well as in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
Now sports betting is available in Florida, too, through the Hard Rock Bet app. Longtime sports broadcaster Steve Goldstein sees that as a good thing.
“It’s great for the Florida sports fan … South Florida is one of the nation’s sports capitals because of all the success the teams have had,” Goldstein, the Florida Panthers play-by-play announcer, said. “The Dolphins are buzzing, the Panthers and Heat made the finals, and the Marlins made the playoffs. Now fans can follow those sports and bet responsibly from their homes or at the casino and have a great time.”
An immediate economic benefit to the area is the more than 1,000 jobs created by the compact. That includes dealers and tellers to handle the special wagers and parlays. Additional employees help with the dozens of sports betting kiosks installed in the casinos. Ultimately, the new games will keep and attract customers who no longer must travel to Las Vegas for such entertainment.
“The entertainment, travel and tourism industries and many more will see a positive economic impact caused by the new casino games,” Allen said in a company release. “With the addition of craps, roulette and sports betting, we now offer a full complement of casino games and join the ranks of leading casinos around the world.”
Valentino Lettieri of Delray Beach returned to Florida the morning of Dec. 7 from Las Vegas where he spent “a few weeks” betting sports. He expects not to make that trip as often in the future.
“The sports are getting pretty good here with the Panthers, the Heat and the Dolphins,” Lettieri said. “Just having some action on the game makes the games more exciting and also offers the chance to make a little money.”
The lawsuits brought by competing betting companies argue the Seminole Tribe holds an unfair monopoly on sports betting in Florida. West Flagler and Associates has lawsuits before the state Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, which is not expected to hear the case until February.
The tribe recently announced it intends to resume making payments to the state as outlined in the compact. Allen said the tribe expects to pay the state at least $650 million over the next year.
Tribes in other states are reportedly monitoring the court cases involving the Seminoles and Florida. Online casino games are certain to expand beyond sports betting, meaning billions and billions of dollars are at stake.
Meanwhile, round and round it goes, and where it stops, nobody knows.
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(George Willis for Biscayne Times)
Valentino Lettieri placing his bet on a Patriots-Steelers game at the Hollywood’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
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(George Willis for Biscayne Times)
The new roulette table getting its first spins last month at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.