An omnibus gambling bill is making progress in the Florida legislature and now includes a proposed crackdown on online sports betting and internet casino gambling that isn’t offered by the state’s Seminole Tribe.
- Florida lawmakers advanced H.B. 189, which would make operating or promoting non-Seminole online sports betting or iGaming a felony and participating in it a misdemeanor.
- The bill preserves exceptions for the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Bet platform and authorized pari-mutuel wagering.
- H.B. 189 also addresses fantasy sports, betting on fixed games, regulatory clarifications, and other gambling oversight measures while continuing to face a long path to becoming law.
The Florida House of Representatives’ Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee approved an amended version of H.B. 189 on Tuesday, advancing the proposed legislation. The bill has also been referred to the House's commerce committee and criminal justice subcommittee, so it still has a ways to go before it clears the chamber and becomes law.
Still, one of the tweaks to the bill on Tuesday was to insert a section that would make it a third-degree felony to operate or promote online sports betting, iGaming, or “illegal gambling” more broadly. The amended version would also make it a misdemeanor to play those unauthorized games.
There are, however, exceptions to the proposed ban on online sports betting and iGaming in Florida. One would be for the operation and use of the Seminole Tribe’s online sportsbook, Hard Rock Bet. The other is for authorized pari-mutuel wagering in the state.
In other words, H.B. 189 now proposes a broad crackdown on any online sports betting Floridians may be doing with any operator that isn't the Seminole Tribe, which was granted exclusivity over sports betting via a compact with the state. There is no authorized iGaming in Florida.
Some topical (albeit reheated) legislation is being kicked around in the Florida legislature, which would make it a crime to bet on sports when you know the fix is in:https://t.co/7ZMjOFoChX @Covers
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) November 12, 2025
Who exactly might be targeted by the new provisions in H.B. 189 is uncertain, but it's conceivable it ranges from offshore sportsbooks to federally regulated prediction markets.
The definition of online sports betting used is "to stake, bet, or wager any money or other thing of value upon the result of any trial or contest of skill, speed, power, or endurance of human or beast that is available on the Internet and accessible on a mobile device, computer terminal, or other similar access device."
That definition does not include fantasy sports contests or authorized pari-mutuel wagering.
The recently added provisions to the bill would be in addition to plenty of other gambling-related sections, including a proposed legal framework for daily fantasy sports and the criminalization of betting on a game when the bettor knows the results have been fixed.
Similar legislation has previously been put forward in the Florida legislature, but it has yet to become law.
“The bill strengthens penalties for illegal gambling, authorizes the operation of fantasy sports contests, clarifies employee prohibitions governing the Florida Gaming Control Commission, revises reporting requirements related to changes in ownership for pari-mutuel wagering permitholders, and preempts local governments from regulating gaming activities unless expressly provided in Florida law,” a summary of the legislation notes.
