At this time, Florida has not moved on legalizing state-regulated online gaming. The state of Florida has not legislatively allowed the operation of any type of online gambling site within its borders. Therefore, Floridians seeking online gaming options will need to access licensed, legal, and secure international platforms. Social Gambling: Not Legal. DFS Bets: Legal. Online Gambling: Not Legal. There's a casino in French Lick where you can play slots and table games. But if you want to play those games elsewhere in the state, you'll have to head to a riverboat, pay an entry fee, and play (let's face it) inferior games in an inferior setting.

Florida does not have legalized land-based casino gambling. It does, however, have a day-cruise facility which offers gamblers the opportunity to board ships that cruise offshore where casino gambling is legal. There are a few land-based Native Indian casinos that operate pending state approval (see below).

From the east coast the cruise ships sail out into the Atlantic Ocean and from the west coast the boats sail out into the Gulf of Mexico.

There are a variety of cruise ships in operation ranging from Port Canaveral’s 1,800-passenger Ambassador II cruise ship all the way down to the yacht-sized SunCruz Casino boat in Key Largo which carries just 150 passengers.

Does Florida Have Legalized Gambling

Generally, you will find that the larger cruise ships have more things to do besides gambling, but the cost will be a little higher because of added port/service charges. Most of the ships that sail from the major ports will add port/service charges to the quoted cruise price. Normally, there is also a charge to park your car at those locations.

Since late 1994 smaller ships have begun operations and because they don’t dock at the large ports many don’t have port/service charges added to their cruise prices. Also, most of them offer free parking. You will find that almost all of the ships are constantly running special offers and you are likely to find a lower price than the regular brochure rates.

All cruise ships offer slots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette and caribbean stud poker. Some casinos also offer baccarat, mini-baccarat, sportsbook, poker, pai gow poker, let it ride, and bingo. Each boat sets its own minimum gambling age: on some boats it’s 18 and on others it’s 21. The minimum drinking age on all boats is 21.

Indian Casinos

Does Florida Have Legalized Gambling Winnings

Florida has five Native Indian gaming locations. The Seminoles have four and the fifth is on the Miccosukee reservation.

There is no state-tribal agreement in effect in Florida and the state has gone to court in an attempt to shut down the Indian gaming operations. In turn, the Seminole tribe has made a formal appeal to the Secretary of the Interior’s office to allow full-scale casino gambling on their reservations.

Until the matter is fully resolved, federal officials have not allowed the state to shut down any Tribes’ gambling operations. Indian casinos normally offer high-stakes bingo, video pull tabs, and poker games. All are normally open 24 hours and the minimum gambling age is 18.

For information on Florida call (904) 488-5607. For information on the Florida Keys or Key West call (800) 352-5397.
[Jun 2003 last update]

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After being featured prominently at last year’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, skill-based slot machines—think Angry Birds, Candy Crush, or Guitar Hero, but played for cash—have been heralded as the heir apparent to the original slot machine. The stale original is boring for younger generations of casino-goers that have grown up playing interactive games on their smartphones. Casinos recognize that, to capture the attention of this market, they have to evolve the slot machine from the insert-a-token, pull-a-lever, and hope-for-fortune model.

One industry observer has suggested that the enthusiasm behind skill-based slots is “a sign of the casino industry’s destiny—sort of Bellagio meets Dave and Buster’s.” This may be true, and the future proliferation of skill-based slots might not be limited to places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Because the outcome of skill-based slots are, as the name implies, based on players’ skill, they may not be prohibited by the gambling laws of certain states.

Florida is not one of those states. Florida explicitly prohibits skill-based slots that pay out cash or other things of value. Florida Statute § 849.16 defines slot machine as “any machine or device . . . [that] may be operated and if the user, whether by application of skill or by reason of any element of chance or any other outcome unpredictable by the user, may: (a) Receive or become entitled to receive any piece of money, credit, allowance, or thing of value.” In addition, the State’s gambling laws and broad statutory definition of “slot machine” have created a very fine line between arcade games, like those offered at Chuck E. Cheese’s, and illegal slot machines.

The Palms II internet café of Ocala, Florida recently found itself on the wrong side of that line. Last December, a state court ordered the Palms II to cease operating video game machines that the State Attorney had deemed to be illegal slot machines. Order Granting Final Summary Judgment, Let’s of Ocala II, LLC v. Brad King et al., No. 15:2648-CA-G (Fla. Cir. Ct. July 13, 2016). The game in question involves two stages. In the first, a randomized “loot wheel” spins on the screen; where it lands dictates the potential points the player can win. In the second stage, the player attempts to click on ducks flying across the screen—much like Nintendo’s classic Duck Hunt. Successful players win points that are redeemable for cheap merchandise on-site. No cash equivalent is offered for the points.

The Palms II challenged the State Attorney’s determination in court, arguing that the games were skill-based and more akin to arcade games than illegal slot machines. The Circuit Court of Marion County disagreed, granting summary judgment against the Palms II. According to the court, the game constituted illegal gambling under Florida Statutes § 849.08 and § 849.16. Section 849.08 makes it a crime to play or engage “in any game . . . of chance, at any place, by any device whatever, for money or other thing of value.” As noted above, Section 849.16 defines illegal slot machines as machine-based games that contain “any element of chance or any other outcome unpredictable by the user.” The court found that the “loot wheel” at the outset of the game qualifies as an element of chance prohibited by the statutes. For the same reason, the court found that the games are not protected by under Florida’s Family Amusement Games Act—the statute enacted to protect arcade games like those at Chuck E. Cheese’s and Dave and Buster’s.

Because Florida expressly prohibits skill-based slots, the court’s decision doesn’t have significant implications on the burgeoning industry. The decision does, however, highlight the potential complications that will arise as the industry grows amidst ill-fitting gaming laws. The skill-based slot machine industry is coming; states will need to be prepared with correspondingly modernized gaming laws and regulations.