Florida Online Poker: The Complete Guide

Florida is known as the Sunshine State 🌞. It’s also one of the largest US jurisdictions where you can play online poker and win real money.

There is no state-regulated market for real money online poker in Florida, so operators like PokerStars and WSOP aren’t present. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon due to likely opposition from the Seminole Tribe (which has a monopoly on igaming in the state) and more than two dozen state-registered cardrooms (who also don’t want more competition). Voters would also have to approve any gaming expansion.

Absent a regulated market, we recommend sweepstakes online poker sites. Players can enter daily, weekly, and monthly tournaments for an opportunity to win real cash prizes by playing sweepstakes poker. They can also compete against other players from across the US.

We recommend sweepstakes online poker in Florida Sweepstakes law in Florida and most US states include language that allow sweepstakes poker sites to operate. This makes them a popular choice for players in states that don’t regulate online poker (like Florida). Players can win prizes convertible to real money playing sweepstakes poker.

We recommend Clubs Poker for sweepstakes poker in Florida. It’s a new platform, and early impressions are extremely positive. It runs on modern software and has many features that players are certain to love. Clubs Poker hosts ring games, tournaments, and sit & gos, and offers an online poker experience that rivals the best online poker software in the world.

Floridians can also visit free-play sites, which we recommend for beginners. Although free-play sites don’t give you the chance of winning real money and aren’t particularly insightful when it comes to developing poker strategy, they are useful for things like memorizing the strength of poker hands or learning how betting works in poker games.

Can I Play Online Poker in Florida?

Yes, online poker is available for players in the Sunshine State! Depending upon whether you want to play for prizes that can be redeemed for real money or if you’re just looking to play for free — you have options available for playing online poker in Florida.

We recommend sweepstakes poker if you’re looking for an online poker experience that feels closest to a real cash game. For new players, we recommend free-play sites where you don’t play with real money.

The Best Online Poker Sites in Florida

If you’re in Florida and you’re looking for an online poker experience that resembles a real cash game, we recommend sweepstakes poker sites. The platforms are fun for players, run some of the best software in the industry, and are completely legal, even in states that don’t regulate real money online poker (like Florida).

What’s more, you have choices for your online poker experience in the Sunshine State. “Sweepstakes poker” is actually an umbrella term for two types of an online poker site — subscription-based sites and so-called “modern sweepstakes.” Players can win real money playing on both types of sites.

Subscription-based sites are an easy concept to grasp. For a monthly fee, players can access tables where they can win prizes that can be redeemed for real money. Meanwhile, under the modern sweepstakes model, players use real money to buy play tokens (these tokens are usually called Gold Coins). They hold no monetary value and can only be used on play-money games.

Sweeps Coins — How do modern sweepstakes work? When players buy Gold Coins, they are gifted a second type of token, a Sweeps Coin. Players use Sweeps Coins to gain entry to ring games and tournaments, which in turn offer prizes that can be redeemed for real money.

We recommend Clubs Poker for sweepstakes poker in Florida. Here are short descriptions of three sweepstakes poker sites that legally operate in the Sunshine State. There are also links to comprehensive reviews for all three sites:

Clubs Poker

Clubs Poker is a new online poker site that follows the modern sweepstakes model. Although the poker room is new, we expect that it will be very popular with players because it offers features like bad beat jackpots, bomb pots, rabbit hunting, run it twice, and straddles.

The platform offers No-Limit Texas Hold’em (NLH), Pot Limit Omaha (PLO), Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud, HORSE, and 2-7 Draw, among other games. Recreational players will likely be drawn to the site, resulting in plenty of soft games. Clubs Poker has its headquarters in Philadelphia.

Read our full review of Clubs Poker »

Stake.us Poker

Stake.us Poker is a sweepstakes or social poker site that offers players who love poker the chance to finally play it. Stake.us offers online poker tournaments, ring games, sit & gos. They have popular poker variants that include No Limit Hold’em, Pineapple Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. Welcome bonuses and promotions also run.

Read our full review of Stake.us Poker »

ClubWPT

ClubWPT is a subscription-based online poker site where players pay a monthly fee for access to daily tournaments. The setup is similar to Florida’s registered cardrooms (explained later in this guide) although the cardrooms levy hourly and flat fees, not monthly ones.

Players on ClubWPT aren’t able to win real money prizes through ring games since the platform is focused exclusively on tournaments. But the operator’s schedule is full of daily tournaments that offer prizes redeemable for real money. Players can also win access to events on the World Poker Tour.

California-based WPT Enterprises owns and operates the ClubWPT site and the World Poker Tour, which is one of the world’s largest and most popular online poker brands.

Read our full review of ClubWPT »

Global Poker

Global Poker is the largest sweepstakes poker operator in the US. It also follows the traditional sweepstakes model, where players use real money to buy play tokens (usually called Gold Coins) and receive another token, Sweeps Coins, as a gift. Players use Sweeps Coins to get access to sweepstakes tables, where players can win prizes that can be redeemed for real money.

Australia-based Global Poker offers regular MTT series featuring large guarantees. The operator is also a favorite with players because it offers special prizes for winners, including unique avatars, branded merchandise, and custom-made trophies.

Read our full review of Global Poker »

Free-Play Poker in Florida

Floridians also have access to free-play poker sites. These are great for poker novices because they offer a venue for new players to learn the game without using real money. Popular free-play sites include Zynga Poker, Replay Poker, and Governor of Poker.

Social media platforms like Facebook have free-play poker. There are also numerous free-play poker apps available for download in the Sunshine State.

Two of the most popular online poker brands, PokerStars and WSOP, also offer a free-play version. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering operators have an interest in getting more people to learn how to play. The calculus by operators is that once new players are comfortable with the free-play product they will create an account and start playing on their real money site — assuming the players live in a state where it is legal for them to do so.

One downside to playing on a free-play site is that, since there isn’t any money at stake, players don’t gain much insight into poker strategy. That said, free-play sites are a great place for new players to do things like memorize hand rankings and understand how betting in a poker game works.

Real Money Online Poker in Florida

There are a few states with regulated markets for online poker, but Florida is not one of them. In regulated markets, players deposit and withdraw money directly from accounts they have with operators (e.g., BetMGM, PokerStars, and WSOP).

Florida doesn’t have a regulated market for online poker and is unlikely to establish one anytime soon. That’s because the two biggest stakeholders for gaming in the state — the Seminole Tribe and dozens of state-registered cardrooms — would likely oppose any regulatory overhaul, albeit for different reasons. Florida voters likely oppose changing the current setup, too.

The Seminoles would likely oppose having a regulated market for online poker in Florida because that would mean giving up its monopoly on igaming in the state. The tribe was given the monopoly through an amended gaming compact with the state in April 2021. Since the Seminoles are a federally-recognized tribe, the federal Department of Interior (DOI) had to sign off on the amended compact.

There are 27 registered cardrooms in Florida (which are explained later in this guide). They also would likely oppose any effort to create a regulated space for online poker because it would mean increased competition. The cardrooms would argue that sites like BetMGM, PokerStars, and WSOP will take away some of their players.

Florida’s constitution requires voter approval for any gaming expansion (although the Seminoles managed to bypass this, hence the lawsuit explained in the blue box above). But there’s no guarantee that Floridians will support online poker at the ballot box. Consider that Florida is a socially conservative state with many older residents, and many of them are opposed to gaming.

All of which strongly suggests that the status quo is unlikely to change anytime soon. But in this next section we take a hypothetical look at what a regulated market of real money online poker sites would look like in Florida.

Not recommended in FL — Offshore real money online poker sites. You may come across offshore sites that offer online poker to players in Florida. We don’t recommend these sites and strongly advise not to play on them. The sites are sketchy, and players that think they’ve been cheated have no recourse to collect what they believe is owed. Frankly, with so many other options, these sites are not worth the trouble.

Sites That Would Launch in Florida

Florida ranks third in terms of population with 22.6 million residents. That means it would have at least the third-largest regulated market for online poker, if it decided to set one up. The Sunshine State would have the nation’s largest regulated market if California and Texas weren’t interested.

Five states with regulated online poker markets have joined a multi-state gaming compact called the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA). Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and West Virginia have agreed to allow poker operators to combine their player pools across the member states. That creates shared liquidity, which leads to bigger prizes for players and helps supports online poker.

But with 22.6 million people, Florida is a large enough market that it doesn’t necessarily need to join MSIGA (or any other compact). It could function as a segregated market in the same way that Ontario and Pennsylvania currently do.

It’s unclear how the state would set up a regulated market. Since there are no commercial casinos in Florida, the most likely scenario appears to be the state issuing standalone licenses for online poker. Assuming lawmakers in Tallahassee embark on that strategy and the state joins MSIGA for good measure, we project the market will be set up this way:

Live Poker in Florida

Live, in-person poker is also available in the Sunshine State. Most poker players in Florida are within driving distance of at least one of the state’s 27 registered cardrooms. State law requires that all cardrooms register with the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC).

Under Florida law, cardrooms are allowed to charge a “rake” or fee for hosting poker games. Some cardrooms charge players a flat fee or an hourly rate while others take a cut of the pot. The cardrooms are required to post information about their fees in a conspicuous place at each table and at all times.

Six cardrooms can be found at tribal casinos. There are no commercial casinos in Florida.

Note that Florida’s setup with its cardrooms differs greatly from how California regulates its cardrooms and how Texas handles oversight of its private poker clubs. Both states prohibit those gaming halls from charging a rake, but California allows its cardrooms to levy collection fees and Texas’ private poker clubs can charge a membership fee.

For more information on live poker in Florida, check out our online guide, Poker in Florida.

The Largest Registered Cardrooms in Florida

FGCC’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering maintains a list of registered cardrooms in the state. According to the division, the following six registered cardrooms have 50 or more tables available, making them the largest in the state:

Florida Online Poker FAQ

Is online poker legal in Florida?

Yes, online poker is available to players in the Sunshine State! We recommend sweepstakes poker sites for players looking to win real cash prizes, and free-play sites (like Zynga Poker) for those just interested in playing for fun and with no real money at stake.

There are two types of sweepstakes poker sites:

• Subscription poker sites — where players pay a monthly fee
• Modern sweepstakes poker sites — where players use real money to buy play tokens (that have no value) and are gifted a second type of token, Sweeps Coins, which are used to play on tables that offer prizes redeemable for real money

We recommend Clubs Poker for players interested in modern sweepstakes online poker.

Are there online ring games in Florida?

Clubs Poker offers ring games on its platform. Players must use Sweeps Coins in order to enter games that offer prizes that can be redeemed for real money.

Can I play in online tournaments in Florida?

Yes, Clubs Poker has daily tournaments, as well as multi-table tournaments (MTTs), bounty tournaments, sit-and-go (SNG) tournaments, and progressive knockout tournaments (PKOs).

What types of poker games are available online?

No Limit Texas Hold’em (NLH) is a popular game on Clubs Poker, but players will also find Pot Limit Omaha (PLO), 2-7 Draw, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud, and HORSE, among other games.

Is PokerStars legal in Florida?

No, PokerStars does not operate in Florida. Neither do BetMGM or WSOP, the two other online poker operators most familiar to US players. That’s because Florida doesn’t have a regulated market for online poker. Until the state sets up such a market, PokerStars (and the others) will be unavailable to players in the Sunshine State.

Will Florida regulate online poker anytime soon?

At this stage, it seems improbable that Florida would create a regulated market for online poker since the state already agreed to grant the Seminole Tribe an igaming monopoly. Florida could break the compact but lawmakers would still need to put the question of whether online poker should be legal before voters; the state constitution requires voter approval for any gaming expansion. Expect the status quo for now.

Can I play online poker on offshore sites?

We do not recommend playing online poker on offshore sites. The sites don’t offer the same level of consumer protection as legal, regulated sites. When players disclose their financial and personal information on offshore sites they are at risk of identity theft. Federal officials have warned US citizens not to use offshore sites since they have no legal recourse to collect winnings owed to them.