Is Bovada legal in Florida? What state law says (2026)

ByCrown Wagers Editorial Team Updated Bovada Help

No. The only legal online sportsbook in Florida is Hard Rock Bet, run by the Seminole Tribe under its gaming compact with the state. Florida’s gaming regulator sent Bovada a cease-and-desist letter in February 2025, but as of September 2026 Bovada still wasn’t blocking Florida players.

Florida’s one legal sportsbook

Under Florida’s 2021 compact with the Seminole Tribe, ratified in state law at section 285.710 of the Florida Statutes, sports betting in Florida is run exclusively by the Tribe. Bets placed on a phone or computer anywhere in the state are treated as taking place where the Tribe’s servers sit on tribal land. You have to be 21 or older and physically in Florida to bet.

Hard Rock Bet relaunched on November 7, 2023, after a federal appeals court upheld the federal government’s approval of the compact. The US Supreme Court declined to hear the challenge in June 2024.

A separate state-court lawsuit argued the compact needed voter approval under Florida’s constitution. A Leon County judge dismissed it in November 2025 for lack of standing, without deciding that question, and gave the plaintiff time to refile. As of September 2026, Hard Rock Bet was still operating.

The Florida Gaming Control Commission’s own FAQ puts it plainly: “Unless you are placing a wager through sportsbooks operated by or in conjunction with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, you are most likely placing an illegal wager.” It adds that other sportsbooks “may even be licensed by other states. But that does not matter in Florida.”

The 2025 cease-and-desist to Bovada

On February 3, 2025, the Florida Gaming Control Commission announced cease-and-desist letters to three offshore operators. One went to Harp Media B.V., the company behind Bovada.lv. The others went to the companies behind BetUS and MyBookie.

The Commission said the sites offered wagers on sports, horse racing and casino games in violation of Florida Statutes sections 849.14, 849.08, 849.15 and 849.09, and of Article X, section 7 of the Florida Constitution. Its letters called taking sports and horse racing bets, running unauthorized games of chance and promoting illegal lotteries felonies. Deposit matches, giveaways and sign-up bonuses were among what it called illegal lotteries.

The Commission’s executive director, Ross Marshman, said at the time: “The only online sportsbook operating lawfully in Florida is the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Hard Rock Bet. Anyone in Florida betting on the Big Game needs to know this. Bettor beware.”

Bovada didn’t leave. On September 29, 2026, its restricted-states page listed 19 states and Washington, DC, and Florida wasn’t one of them. In Michigan and Massachusetts, by comparison, Bovada withdrew within weeks of getting a letter. Our page on where Bovada is available tracks the full list.

Florida’s attorney general also joined the 50 attorneys general who asked the US Justice Department in August 2025 to block offshore gambling sites, seize their assets and work with payment processors to stop the transactions.

What Florida law says about betting with Bovada

Section 849.14 makes it a crime for “whoever stakes, bets, or wagers any money or other thing of value upon the result of any trial or contest of skill, speed or power or endurance of human or beast.” The same section covers whoever receives or holds those bets, so the bettor and the bookmaker face the same charge, a third-degree felony.

LawWhat it coversGrade and maximum penalty
Section 849.14Betting on, or taking bets on, the result of a contestThird-degree felony: up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine
Section 849.25Bookmaking as a businessThird-degree felony
Section 849.08Playing cards, roulette or other games of chance for moneySecond-degree misdemeanor: up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine
Florida Statutes sections 849.08, 849.14, 849.25, 775.082 and 775.083, as of September 2026.

Section 285.710 says it isn’t a crime to take part in the compact’s games at a tribal facility operating under the compact, and Hard Rock Bet’s online bets count as conducted there. No Florida law gives an offshore site that protection.

Florida’s public actions against offshore betting so far, such as the letters to Bovada, BetUS and MyBookie, have been aimed at the operators. The penalties in the table are the most the statutes allow. This isn’t legal advice.

Lawmakers tried to go further in 2026. HB 189 would have specifically banned internet gambling and sports wagering outside the Seminole compact and created offenses for illegal gambling ads. It died when the session ended in March 2026, along with SB 1580, a related enforcement bill the Senate had passed 34-0. The next regular session starts March 2, 2027.

What’s legal in Florida

  • Hard Rock Bet for sports betting, 21 and older, anywhere in the state.
  • Seminole Hard Rock casinos and the other casinos the Tribe runs under the compact.
  • Pari-mutuel betting on horse racing and jai-alai, cardrooms at pari-mutuel sites, and slot machines at licensed facilities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, all regulated by the Gaming Control Commission.
  • The Florida Lottery, for players 18 and older.

Fantasy apps and prediction markets

Florida sent cease-and-desist letters to pick’em apps in September 2023. PrizePicks and Underdog dropped their games against the house and, in April 2024, switched to peer-to-peer contests where you play against other users. They and other fantasy apps still take Florida players, but the Commission’s FAQ says fantasy wagers outside the Seminole Tribe’s offerings are “probably not” allowed.

Prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which are regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission, offer contracts on game results to Floridians. As of September 2026, Florida hadn’t taken action against them, though state officials have questioned whether they conflict with Florida law and the Seminole compact.

The risks of using Bovada from Florida

  • Section 849.14 treats betting on a game as a third-degree felony. The Seminole compact is the only exception for sports betting.
  • Florida’s regulator has already ordered Bovada to stop taking Florida bets. If Bovada later blocks Florida, its instructions for players in blocked states are to contact customer service about options such as a crypto withdrawal.
  • No Florida agency oversees Bovada. If a withdrawal stalls or a bet is voided, your only escalation is Bovada’s own dispute process. Hard Rock Bet operates under the Seminole compact, which the Gaming Control Commission oversees.
  • Bovada’s terms let it close accounts “for any reason, at any time in our sole discretion.” If Florida is ever blocked, don’t try to mask your location. Bovada treats using a VPN or proxy that way as fraud, which can mean a closed account and a forfeited balance. Our VPN guide has more.
  • Gambling winnings are taxable. The IRS says you must report all of them, including winnings that don’t come with a Form W-2G, and Bovada says it doesn’t report winnings to tax authorities.

Our Bovada review covers its fees, bonuses and payout rules, and where Bovada is located explains who runs it.

Our state-by-state lookup shows where sports betting is legal across the US.

Only bet what you’ve set aside to lose. If gambling has stopped being fun, call or text 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738) for free, confidential help, 24/7, or chat online with the National Problem Gambling Helpline.

Sources

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