The history of gambling in Florida - A brief overview of Florida's gambling past
Gambling in Florida is not unheard of. With many Native Americans running casinos throughout the state, and online casino games in Florida, you can expect that many people have come to know more about the games offered and the money you can win with them.
Horse and dog racing was voted on in 1931, and the votes were in favor of opening up this gaming and gambling avenue to those that wanted to put cash down, watch the races, and win a little. Gambling and pari-mutuel betting and gaming was legalized in the state of Florida in 1932. This was to help bring more revenue to the state after the Great Depression had left the state devastated. A few years later in 1935, slot machines were then added to the list of legal gaming and gambling options for those in the area.
However, come early 1973, these same slot machines that were once legalized within the state had to be removed and were later banned except in Native American ran casinos in Florida.
As gaming and gambling becomes more accepted across the country, Florida may end up legalizing other forms of gaming and casinos in Florida further to what they currently provide to those visitors. This will later be put to a vote to see if it is something that the state would want to introduce to the area. In the meantime, those who are looking for a top online casino experience can make their way down this dedicated review to find some top social and sweepstakes casino alternatives.
Gambling guide - Florida gambling rules for 2023
As discussed, Florida offers online casino and sports betting enthusiasts a taste of the gambling world. However, as you'll see from the table below, options are limited.
| Permitted / Offered? | Notes & Restrictions |
| Land-Based Casinos | Yes | |
| Online Gambling | No | Owning, operating, and playing at an online casino is not legal within the state. However, social and sweepstakes casinos offer great alternatives |
| Sports Betting | No | Horse betting and DFS are two sports betting options that are legal, all other sports betting is currently not regulated in the state. |
| Lottery | Yes | Both state-wide lottery options and multi-state options are available and legal to play. |
| Daily Fantasy Sports | Yes | |
| House Gambling | No | The only time that house gambling is allowed is if it is for a charitable event where money is being raised. |
| Minimum Gambling Age | 18 or 21 | 18 for all gambling options besides some land-based casinos that offer alcohol within their establishments, where it is 21 years of age. |
Land-based casino legal situation - Legal, as long as there's a permit
Those Florida casinos that are land-based are able to operate in the state as long as they have a permit and are located on an Indian Reservation. Any other forms of casino gambling are prohibited and the licenses that are needed are unable to be granted to those that are not on these lands.
Other forms of gambling are allowed in the state, such as card rooms and horse racing, but these have to be regulated in other ways.
Some of the Florida casinos that you can expect to find in the area include, but are not limited to:
- Seminole Classic and Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
- Casino Miami
- Calder Casino
- The Big Easy
- Daytona Beach Racing and Card Club
- Casino Fort Pierce
Online casino legal situation - Time to find your alternative
Online gambling in Florida is currently not permitted, which means that players will look to visit land-based casinos and racetracks across the state instead. However, there are also plenty of online alternatives rapidly joining the market, taking the shape of social and sweepstakes casinos.
Why can you legally use Florida social casinos and sweepstakes casinos?
While people in Florida can’t legally wager real money at the best US online casinos, you are free to play at all of the different sweepstakes and social casinos in the Sunshine State.
This is because you don’t actually wager real money at these alternative kinds of casino sites. Instead, you can simply create an account at any of the Florida social casinos and play for fun against friends and family. Plus, we should note that many of the Florida sweepstakes casinos have some pretty impressive prizes to be won.
The fact that you can’t wager real money at social and sweepstakes casinos means that these sites cannot be considered to have any form of gambling. This means these online gaming sites are exempt from many of the different kinds of legislation that affect regular real money online casinos.
But before you sign up to any of the top social casinos, it’s important to note that there are still a few legal issues to be aware of. The first of which is the fact that these sweepstakes and social casino sites always have a minimum age requirement, meaning that you’ll usually need to be at least 18 years old to play.
Plus, you might find that any prizes won will be limited to a certain amount if you play from Florida. But apart from those issues, you should have a great time playing at these online gaming sites. Here are the basics:
- Sweepstakes and social casinos can be played in Florida
- There is always a minimum age requirement at these casino sites
- Your prizes might be limited if you are playing from Florida.
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Top alternatives - Social and sweepstakes casinos
The social and sweepstakes casino scene is forever growing across Florida, creating a pool of top destinations for casino enthusiasts to enjoy. We have spent a great deal of time creating in-depth reviews of the very best social and sweepstakes casinos around, in order to offer Florida-based players the chance to find an alternative casino gaming destination that suits their preferences. Below, we discuss the differences between social and sweepstakes casinos in full.
Social casinos
Those that want to play in Florida casinos, but want to do so without having to spend money can play in a social casino. These casinos are legal across the state and do not require a purchase to play. Many of the top social casinos will make use of legitimate software providers and offer a diverse gaming portfolio. We have also found that most will present you with plenty of ways to redeem virtual currency that can be used to play these games online.
The virtual currency used across a social casino is often referred to as Gold Coins. These coins do not hold any real-world value and cannot be converted for cash. Instead, they should be considered as play-for-fun tokens that allow you to enjoy an online experience risk-free.
Sweepstakes casinos
Much like social casinos, sweepstakes casinos do not require a purchase to play and will make use of top software providers. However, alongside the Gold Coins used on-site, they will also make use of Sweeps Coins. These Sweeps Coins can be used on promotional titles and entered into competitions. Once a playthrough or minimum withdrawal requirement has been met, they can then be converted into prizes. These prizes will often consist of real cash, vouchers, or merchandise.
Stake.us - our pick of the bunch
So, now you know the difference between social and sweepstakes casinos, it's time to tell you about our preferred place to play - Stake.us. The site itself offers all the enjoyment of a real money online casino while allowing you to choose whether you play for fun or cash prizes. Stake.us makes use of Gold Coins and Stake Cash that can be unlocked at regular intervals to ensure that you never need to make a purchase and offers over 300 casino titles to keep you entertained.
Many of these casino titles are backed by top software providers and you'll also find a dedicated section that is devoted to Stake Originals. These original gaming titles have been designed by the Stake.us development team and include some fantastic takes on Keno, video poker, Plink, and more.
We are currently offering an exclusive promotional bonus to all new players, that must be entered during the registration process. The bonus will offer 5% Rakeback on all casino losses and can be used alongside the daily login bonus, too. The daily login bonus will gift you with a varied number of Gold Coins and Stake Cash, depending on your activity, every 24 hours.
How to play at Florida sweepstakes casinos
We found that it was so easy to play at all Florida sweepstake casinos. This is because you can sign up in a matter of minutes and from here you can simply play for free.
You’ll probably be given lots of free credit just for creating your first account at any of the new sweepstakes casinos in the US. Bear in mind that this free credit will usually come in two forms and neither of them will have any cash value.
The first of these will be a kind of currency that is often called something like ‘gold coins’ and you can use it to play casino games in a standard mode. While you’ll be able to purchase this kind of virtual currency, you won’t be able to redeem any prizes from your gameplay.
The second kind of virtual currency might be called something like ‘sweepstakes coins’. You can never buy this kind of credit, but you might win prizes just for taking part in the games that let you play with this type of currency. It really is that simple, but here’s a reminder of what you need to do!
- Sign up to the sweepstakes casino
- Verify your identity by proving your age and location
- Get your virtual credit and start playing!
Games featured at Florida social casinos
We found that all good social casinos will give you access to literally hundreds of different casino games to play for free. These include everything from simple online slots to some classic table games like roulette, blackjack and baccarat.
Plus we’ve seen a growing number of social casinos that even make their own innovative types of casino games. Take a look below at just some of the casino games that you’ll find at all good social casinos:
- Online slots
- Table games like blackjack, baccarat and roulette
- Video poker
- Original casino games
One of our favorite things about sweepstakes casinos is the fact that these sites are crazy about putting on special offers. Obviously, you’ll get a sign-up offer that gives you lots of extra credit, but there will be plenty more promo codes for sweepstakes casinos besides this.
For example, we’ve seen lots of sweepstakes casino sites that give you virtual credit just for logging into your account each day. Other sweepstakes casinos are very keen on putting on special contests on social media to keep you topped up with credit. Here are just some of the sweepstakes casino promos that you might come across:
- Get virtual credit for signing up
- Daily login bonuses give you more to play with
- Take part in social media giveaways
- Enjoy tournaments, battles, races and challenges
Our favorite social casino and sweepstakes casino bonuses in Florida
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Conclusion - Social and sweeps casinos provide a worthy alternative
Unfortunately, Florida is still lagging behind many other states when it comes to gambling laws. Whilst you can legally bet at racetracks and on-site casinos, online gambling is still prohibited. If you do enjoy online gambling then you do have a couple of options available - social and sweepstakes casinos allow you to try out various games and contests online, without the risk that comes with online gambling for money.
Of course, like many states, Florida may see a change in gambling regulations in the future, but for now, players are somewhat limited in their options. With this in mind, we suggest checking out our latest social and sweepstakes casino reviews to help you find your new favorite place to play.
Our most frequently asked questions - All you need to know
⛹ Can I gamble online in the state of Florida?
No, you cannot legally gamble online in Florida at this time. Instead, you must wager at land-based casinos throughout the state.
🥇What is the best online Casino Site in Florida?
Since new online casinos cannot be owned or operated within the state there are no options to choose from at the current time.
⚽ When did legal online casinos in Florida open?
There are currently no legal online casinos operating in Florida; players are still waiting for the laws to change in the state before they can legally wager online.
🗺 Where can I play using my mobile device or tablet?
There currently aren't any casinos that support online mobile play because online wagering isn't legal in Florida just yet.
❓ Who is responsible for regulating Florida online gambling?
There is currently no division or department that is responsible for regulating Florida’s online gambling industry, but the department that is responsible for on-site casinos is the Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering (PMW) of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).
