Florida Online Casinos 2023
There’s a lot of gambling action going on in Florida, with tribal casinos dominating the landscape. But as a great alternative, there is a lot of fun to be had playing at Florida online casinos.
In 2019 alone, over $136 million was wagered at online casinos, sports betting sites, and online bingo and poker tournaments.
Florida Offshore Casino Statistics
Florida is the 3rd most active state that participates in offshore online gambling at casinos as of 2020 with a gross win amount of $82.39m. Florida contributes to 7.10% of all offshore casino activity in the United States for 2020. Click here to see a breakdown of all offshore gambling activity broken down by state. The following is a breakdown of all offshore casino gambling from Florida since 2003.
| Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Gross Win | $64.41m | $79.27m | $102.25m | $124.88m | $78.81 | $72.81 | $68.51m | $66.53m | $60.32m |
| Year | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020* |
| Gross Win | $60.33m | $60.18m | $59.94m | $59.31m | $58.67m | $58.65m | $58.24m | $58.13m | $82.39m |
*Note: Data from 2020 are currently based on estimates.
Source – H2 Gambling Capital
Offshore gambling statistics for sports betting from Florida can be found here.
Top Florida Online Casinos
| CASINO | RATING | BONUS | PLAY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
Vegas Casino Online | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
| 400% up to $10,000 Welcome Bonus | PLAY NOW |
| 2 | 
Slots Empire | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
| 220% up to $1,000 Welcome Bonus | PLAY NOW |
| 3 | 
El Royale Casino | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
| 250% up to $12,500 Welcome Bonus | PLAY NOW |
| 4 | 
Red Dog Casino | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
| 225% up to $1,000 Welcome Bonus | PLAY NOW |
| 5 | 
Slots.lv | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
| 200% up to $1,000 Welcome Bonus | PLAY NOW |
The process of creating a list of top Florida Online Casinos is not overly complicated, it just takes a considerable amount of time. Like any review of a product, core features are identified and feedback is obtained from purchasers. In this case, the same process has been applied for online casinos.
The best online casinos feature games with quality graphics and audio, and wide variety to select from, and a mixture of classic and new games with rewarding bonuses. However choosing a casino is not just about the games. It’s also about the service that they offer – customer support, security of player information and payment methods.
We regard these key aspects as the foundation of ranking online casinos and delve into them further.
Player Security
In today’s world we are very conscious of cyber crime, hence it is of the utmost importance that an online casino has the most advance technology for protecting a player’s money and personal information. The most common and effective form of internet security is SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). All online casinos, must have some form of protection, with the best casinos opting for SSL. SSL will protect via sophisticated encryption the connection from the player’s private browser through to the online casino’s server. Weak protection will allow hackers to penetrate the connection and at worse, steal the players money and personal identification.
Cyber crime is very real, hence we rank highly those online casinos with the best security.
Quality Game Play
An online casino isn’t a casino without games to play. And without good quality games then it’s not a good casino. Quality gaming has advanced greatly in the past few years.
Not only are graphics and audio now expected to be in high definition and with clarity, the more recent games include engaging themes and some even have story lines.
In addition for casino table game fans, Live Dealer games are now on offer. Liver Dealer is an online casino game which streams a Dealer through to the Player. This feature, presents the best of live gaming ensuring those who have any doubt of Random Number Generators, that they can rely on plain simple “normal” odds found at a land based casino.
The best casinos will offer a wide game selection, covering the classics and the new.
Fast and Safe Payment Methods
An online casino that can process fast and safe deposits and withdrawals ranks highly. Players want to play as quickly as possible after making a deposit, and want their withdrawal to be processed without delay when cashing out. Frustration makes the blood boil, when online casinos are not upfront with the process. Constant querying and clarification is the bane of any Player’s existence – it can be maddening.
All of the top casinos offer a wide range of deposit methods. Credit cards and direct deposits are the most common, with Bitcoin very popular. Big brand e-wallets are also normally accepted such as Skrill and Neteller.
Withdrawal methods are more limited than the number of deposits. This is mostly due to the costs incurred by the online casino. In general, there isn’t much differentiation between all casinos with their withdrawal methods. The common ones being check, bank wire (fees included) and Bitcoin.
Customer Support
Any successful online casino is backed by professional and friendly staff. As a player, the most important staff of those in Customer Support. Accessibility and prompt responses makes a huge difference. The best online casinos offer various channels to log a query – Live Chat, email and occasionally phone. Many will tout that their service is 24/7 (which receiving an email can be open all the time), but it’s their responsiveness that really counts. An online casino that responds within the hour is very very good. Typically response times will vary not only from casino to casino, but also during different times of the day.
Sometimes, receiving quality support is also a matter of luck. Even the best of casinos may have poor customer support. But overall their accessibility and promptness is better.
How to Consider the Bonuses in Choosing an Online Casino
Balance the percentage match against the maximum deposit amount. And for slot players, consider as well the number of free spins.
Choosing the casino with the largest Welcome Bonus will get most bang for buck. The bigger the Welcome Bonus the longer the play time. The best online casinos will match more that 100% of the first deposit, with some even extending up to massive 400%. But on the flip side, pay attention to the maximum that can be matched by the casino. The two aspects of percentage match and maximum that can be matched should be considered together.
At the same time some players will choose to play at a casino which offers the most free spins. These players prefer to play slots, and therefore target the free spin bonuses. Again, this goes hand in hand with balancing out the percentage match and maximum matched amount.
Understand the Wagering Requirements for Casino Bonuses
Wagering requirements are conditions placed by the online casino to prevent an immediate withdrawal of a bonus. A certain number of games played – normally also defined by a wagering amount – is required to be met, prior to being a withdrawal being permitted. In the past, online casinos were known to be opaque with wagering requirements. Goal posts could be moved around at their discretion resulting in unfair treatment to players. The best online casinos are transparent with their Wagering Requirements and stipulate them clearly and simply on their website.
Example of Wagering Requirement
An online casino has a Welcome Bonus of $2,000. The bonus cannot be cashed out until the wagering requirement has been met. The wagering requirement for this casino is 10x. This equates to $20,000 of wagering required before the bonus can be cashed out.
Tip – Don’t be a Online Casino Bonus Chaser
Some players have a strategy of obtaining the largest bonus possible, then proceeding to play with the sole intention of meeting the wagering requirement and immediately cashing out. There’s is nothing wrong with this strategy, but it is incredibly boring and will lead to insanity (if human).
Playing game by game while counting down the wagering is soul destroying. It’s not a highly recommended to take up this strategy as a side gig.
Texas Online Gambling
Texas online gambling extends beyond the online casino games. Also popular is online bingo, poker tournaments and sports betting. In fact, sports betting turnover exceeds that of online casinos (marginally).
The breakdown of wagering turnover for 2019 is:
- Betting – $61.7m
- Casino – $58.1m
- Bingo – $10.4m
- Poker – $6.5m
In terms of legality, online gambling is technically neither legal or illegal. As with many other US States Florida gambling laws were written in an era prior to the advent of internet, hence the application is questionable for online gambling. Online gambling laws remain in a gray area, and therefore there are many online casinos that are based offshore that accept players from Florida.
Is there are risk that penalties and charges be laid against online players? To this day, there has been no precedence of a a player being charged by law enforcement agencies (probably because the law suit, if challenged, would amount to millions of dollars).
“But why are the Online Gambling Sites all offshore?“
However operating an online casino (or a sports betting site) is a different matter and is policed more strictly. Therefore, online casinos are based offshore.
Florida Casinos
There are quite a number of land based casinos (and riverboat/cruise) available in Florida to play at. All land based casinos are native American casinos and are governed Federally according to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Typically, the IGRA restricts native American casinos from offering Vegas Style gaming. However, in the case of Florida many games in fact include: blackjack, roulette, baccarat, slot machines and poker tables.
Land based Indian casinos are operated by the Seminole Tribe and Miccosukee Tribe.
We list the casinos in Florida as per below:
- Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa
- Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood
- Seminole Casino Brighton
- Seminole Casino Immokalee
- Seminole Classic Casino
- Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
- Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Center
- Casino Miami Jai-Alai
Florida Lottery
As with other US States, the Florida Lottery has a monopoly license for providing lottery games. Net proceeds from the lottery are directed to State public education initiatives.
Florida Gambling Laws
Florida gambling laws are relatively clear regarding land based gambling. Accordingly, residents of Florida can play at native American casinos and boat casinos within the State. The laws governing online gambling have yet to be established, with anticipation that law makers will amend the Constitution in the coming years.
Currently the legal gambling age requirements are as follows:
- The gambling age is 21 for casino gambling.
- The gambling age is 18 for lottery, poker and pari-mutuel betting.
Though online gambling remains unregulated within the state, the legal age for gambling at offshore gambling sites normally follow that of onshore, which is 21.
Sports Betting
Sports betting remains illegal with very little hope of change soon. With many stakeholder required to come to an agreement, negotiations are being held indefinitely.
Race Betting
Florida allows horse betting in its laws. However dog racing will be banned from 2021.
Bingo and Jai-Alai Betting
Florida gambling laws also permit bingo (halls) and jai-alai. See Fla Stat. § 849.01 et seq.; Fla Stat. § 550.001 et seq.
Legal Disclaimer:
WagerDex has disclosed the above statements as information only. We do not purport that the information is complete nor correct in entirety. The above statements are not be used as specific legal advice. No attorney and clients relationship exists between WagerDex and readers of this site.
Appendix
- Florida State Lottery
- Department of Agriculture, Sweepstakes Registration
- Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering
FAQ
Technically it is neither no or yes. Florida State Gambling Laws can be implied to deem online gambling as unaddressed. It is therefore an unregulated industry and could therefore be considered illegal by some. However, due to no player having been charged with breaking the law, with therefore no need to challenge the law in court, Floridians can continue to play at online casinos.
Floridians have many options to place a bet online through Bovada. Legalized and regulated internationally, the site is a safe option for players who worry about breaking state and federal laws.
The minimum legal age is 21 for residents of Florida. The minimum age is aligned with the minimum age of playing at land based casinos.
There are several aspects to consider when choosing an online casino. The game features itself must be of good quality. In addition player online security, customer service, and fast and safe payment methods should be considered.
