Florida

Online Poker Developments in Florida

All gambling is complex in the Sunshine State. That means online poker is especially complicated. Since everything revolves around the gambling compact that Florida maintains with the Seminoles via the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), it must be addressed through that agreement.

When the topic of online poker and casino games emerged in 2019 compact negotiations, the Seminoles quickly realized that they didn’t want to wage that war. They were willing to fight for sports betting, and everything else fell out of favor to streamline the focus of negotiations.

As a matter of fact, the Seminoles started discussions with numerous ideas on the table in the spring of 2019. They broached the subjects of 24-hour cardroom availability, a reduction on slot machine taxes, and the ability to add craps and roulette tables to their land-based casinos. Any mention of igaming was in the context of the Seminoles holding a monopoly on the virtual game, but that entire topic appeared to be too much for the state, especially for Governor Ron DeSantis. The Seminoles quickly agreed to take igaming off the table at that time.

At that time, the Poker Alliance – the second iteration of the Poker Players Alliance and funded by PokerCentral (now PokerGO) that fell apart completely soon after this – stood staunchly against the proposal and lobbied against it. Poker players even took to social media to support the Poker Alliance’s “FoldOn3” campaign. The argument was that live and online poker would have a better chance of expansion through legislators and not voters.

Amendment 3 passed by a wide margin of 71% yes votes to 29% no votes.

That seemed to pave the way for the Florida to put the new Florida Casino Gambling Expansion Initiative on the 2022 ballot. It would have allowed cardrooms to offer more casino games if they’re located a particular distance from Seminole properties. That initiative didn’t get the proper number of signatures to find a place on the ballot, though.

New Opportunity for Florida iGaming?

The most recent compact between the Seminoles and the state of Florida contained a sports betting clause. The Seminole Tribe would be able to offer sports betting, hosting servers on tribal lands, on the tribal gambling properties. However, anyone in the state would be able to place sports wagers online, no matter their location around Florida.

Pari-mutuel betting operators in Florida took issue with the legality of that agreement. They said that the compact, which was signed under the premise of IGRA, gave the tribe too much power over sports betting throughout the state, creating a monopoly even outside of Native American reservations. The compact, they said, violated the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The case was very complicated, and in various forms, it has been sent to the United States Supreme Court. While SCOTUS is unlikely to accept the case, sports betting remains on a perpetual hold.

Should the issue be resolved, the Seminoles are prepared to try to address online casino games again. According to PlayUSA, the Florida legislature would have to approve the compact amendment, and the legislative session is over for 2024. But it could come up in 2025.

Since the Seminoles have the sports betting software ready to relaunch, it wouldn’t take much to include other online gambling options on the platform. And Hard Rock, which operates online gaming in New Jersey and provides land-based gambling and sports betting to the Seminoles, can use its NJ technology.

Several issues remain to be decided before this happens, though.

• The US Supreme Court must accept or decline the sports betting case with regard to Florida.
• The Seminoles will need to relaunch sports betting free of legal challenges.
• Legislators must approve a new, amended compact to add online casinos to the mix.

Finally, the specific topic of online poker must make its way into discussions. Online casino games may be the key to igaming profits, but online poker is an important component of any igaming platform.

Current Florida Gambling Options

Since Europeans first settled in Florida, gambling has been a part of the culture. Florida legalized gambling in the 1900s, sparking debates that have persisted for a century and continue to shape gambling laws today.

Lawmakers have successfully respected the wishes of many Floridians by not allowing for new land-based casinos around the state. Restricting them to Seminole lands and tribal management has limited the number of casinos and maintains a status quo against which few want to push.

There was a strong push in 1958 to authorize commercial casino gambling, but then-Governor LeRoy Collins intervened to stop it. There have been smaller movements since then, but the people have yet to express widespread support for more casinos. Regardless, the Seminole compact does not allow it.

The laws of Florida do include a definition of gambling and skill games for the record.

Poker is legal at racinos (racetracks with casino games) and Seminole-run land-based casinos throughout the state. The state allows pari-mutuel betting on horse and dog racing and jai alai. It also permits small social games, charitable gambling, and the state-regulated lottery.

What Forms of Gambling Are Legal in Florida?

Playing Online Poker in Florida

Florida doesn’t regulate any state-sanctioned online poker or online gambling within its borders.

There have been few and far attempts to legalize online poker in Florida. The most notable was in 2012 when the National Council of Legislators from the Gaming States encouraged it. Lawmakers’ efforts to legalize online lottery ticket sales faced a short-lived outcome due to disagreements.

The best chance for state-regulated online poker in Florida is through its compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. However, legal and legislative complications keep that topic on hold for the time being.

The question remains: Can you play online poker while in Florida? The answer is yes.

Players have access to several online poker sites regulated in the Caribbean and Central and South America. The operators are very reputable and have been in the online poker business for many years, many of them nearing two decades in operation.

The recommended sites not only accept most US-based players but specifically note that Florida is a safe state. As a result, there are no problems signing up for a new online account and depositing to play real-money online poker.

Important: This page does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a gambling attorney with severe and specific concerns about online poker.

Famous Florida Poker Players

Live poker rooms in Florida have been the launching pad for quite a few poker players, with notables like Michael Mizrachi and Jason Mercier coming up through the stakes in Florida.

Online poker has always been popular there as well, though more so prior to Black Friday. Florida is larger than outsiders think, as the state spans about 65,757 square miles. That means live poker is not readily available to most residents. After Black Friday, poker players found their way to offshore sites like Americas Cardroom and have been playing there – as well as on Ignition and BetOnline – in larger numbers every year in the past decade.

Live poker remains the primary metric to rank poker players, though, and the Hendon Mob database tracks all of the data. Per that information, there have been some changes in the past several years.

In 2019, Mercier remained at the top of the Florida rankings with more than $19M in lifetime live poker earnings, with Mizrachi in second with $17M. Sean Winter was far behind in third with $13M, and Sam Soverel was at $11.5M. Everything changed, though, when Mercier took time off from the game to spend time with his growing family, and Mizrachi found his way to other business ventures. At the same time, Winter and Soverel climbed the high-stakes poker ladder. The entire lineup of Florida top earners changed.

Just a couple of months into 2023, the rankings for Florida live poker players showed:

• 1. Sean Winter $23.6M
• 2. Jason Mercier $20.6M
• 3. Sam Soverel $20.2M
• 4. Michael Mizrachi $17.4M
• 5. Daniel “Jungleman” Cates $12.3M
• 6. John Racener $11M
• 7. Robert Mizrachi $8.8M
• 8. Jonathan Little $7.7M
• 9. Barry Hutter $7.5M
• 10. Noah Schwartz $6.2M

Other players in the multi-millions section of the rankings are still climbing and could break into the top 10 in the next year or so. This list includes James Calderaro, Michael Duek, Tony Miles, and Harrison Gimbel, not to mention Justin Zaki and David Jackson. The state is full of grinders at all levels of the game.

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