The DC District Court of Appeals overturned the ruling on June 30, 2023, and mobile sports betting apps in Florida became legal once more. As a result, Florida’s only regulated sports betting app, Hard Rock Bet, was forced to stop offering its services in the state.
These legal challenges saw a federal judge vacate the compact, pending appeals made by the Department of Interior and the Seminole Tribe. Additionally, there were queries about how this compact tied in with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. However, this called many things into question, including the claim that it violated the constitutional amendment requiring voter approval. While this didn’t offer hard and fast approval, it permitted the compact to proceed, and the Seminole Tribe launched Hard Rock Bet in November 2021. Following the go-ahead from the US Department of Interior, the compact legalizing mobile sports betting in Florida was published in the Federal Register in August 2021. FL state legislators approved the initiative in May 2021. In April 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe, allowing them to offer a mobile sports betting app in Florida. However, this could change in the near future, and here is why. Yes, sports betting and sports betting apps in Florida are currently legal. Are Mobile Sites or Betting Apps Legal in Florida?