Florida Governor Ron DeSantis supported proposed legislation moving slot machines from Hollywood (Broward County) to the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, Florida. However, the bill was dropped due to a lack of support.
Real estate billionaire and South Florida resident Jeffery Soffer possesses two gambling licenses for the former dog track in Hollywood, FL. The track is in a blue-collar residential neighborhood that many feel could be developed into more housing for the growing population.
The proposed gambling legislation would have allowed Soffer to move his gambling ventures in Hollywood to his also-owned Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. Still, it would not have permitted any new construction.
Lawmakers who supported the proposal thought moving the license to a tourist area would benefit tourists and current Hollywood residents. However, despite the reports that the governor asked local legislatures to pass the bill, there needed to be more support to bring the issue to the table in 2024.
This proposal will likely be brought up again with local lawmakers in 2025.
Florida In-State Casinos
Currently, the state of Florida has a compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida that permits casinos on tribal land. The compact was extended in 2021 for three decades, and the tribe agreed to pay about $20 billion in taxes over the life of the agreement.
The new agreement allows the Seminole Tribe of Florida to build three more Indian casinos in Florida (Broward County) and offer online sports betting, craps, and roulette at their casinos. The new games launched in December of 2023 despite legal challenges that delayed the launch, but some are still working their way through the legal system.
Online Florida Casinos
While the state is still working out the kinks of its state-regulated online gambling options, many residents have grown accustomed to what has been in place for years.
Online casinos in Florida have been available from out-of-state sources since the early 2000s and offer several benefits you won’t find from their tribal counterparts. The perks you often see online include bonuses, rewards, crypto support, and, most importantly, more games.
Since no local laws forbid online gambling, residents can choose which sites to play and how much they want to wager. Only licensed and state-regulated sites offer added player protections. To see which sites we favor for 2024, see our online FL casino reviews.