Online Sports Betting Begins in Florida with Early Acid Rock Launch By Seminole

Online sports betting has lawfully begun in Florida, although the legality of that wagering is still being evaluated in the courts.


Acid Rock Sportsbook, which is offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, is now live in the state for gamblers 21 and older, according to its website. Miami radio host Andy Slater first broke the news that wagers were being accepted via the sportsbook's mobile app, which is also offered in Iowa and New Jersey.


The "early access launch" of the sportsbook (and its $100 very first bet deal) comes as Florida's design of legal sports betting remains the target of legal obstacles by opponents to the plan. A hearing for among those difficulties is arranged to occur on Friday.


Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in April the brand-new gaming compact with the state's Seminole Tribe that included online sports betting. The compact was then authorized by the state legislature in May and "considered" approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior in August.


The compact enables the people to offer in-person sports wagering too. Yet while the Seminole are expected to partner with gaming houses, such as race tracks, for the consumer-facing, front-end of business, all sports betting should eventually flow through the tribe in Florida.


Sports wagering must be "exclusively by and through" sportsbooks operated by the Seminole or its approved management contractor, the video gaming compact states. Moreover, all sports betting is to be considered solely done by the people even when the wagers are positioned by someone in the state on their phone, however not on the tribe's lands.