Florida

Is sports betting legal in Florida? What to know about gambling before you watch the games

Published

1 year ago

November 28, 2024

Is sports betting legal in Florida? What to know about gambling before you watch the games

Getting ready to settle down and watch the games? While you watch the Dolphins face off against the Packers, the Cowboys battle the Giants or the Bears take on the Lions, you might want to put a little money on the results. Can you, legally, in Florida?

Yes, but not everywhere.

Is sports betting legal in Florida?

Yes, but only at casinos on Seminole Tribe lands or through the Seminole Tribe’s mobile app.

In 2021, the Seminole Tribe struck a 30-year deal (known as a gaming compact) with the state to allow sports betting on tribal lands and also allow anyone in Florida to gamble with a mobile app hosted on tribal land, in exchange for paying the state about $20 billion, including $2.5 billion over the first five years. The contract also allowed the Seminoles to add craps and roulette, previously prohibited, to their Florida casinos. Slot machines were already allowed there but illegal anywhere else.

After that, there were years of legal battles between the Seminole Tribe and a group of pari-mutuel companies who challenged the compact, but the challenges consistently lost and all parties finally came to an agreement in October.

What sports betting apps are legal in Florida?

The Hard Rock Bet app (iOS | Android) from the Seminole Tribes is the only approved mobile betting app in Florida.

There are online apps that claim to be based on offshore locations and therefore legal in Florida, but they’re on shaky legal ground.

How can I bet on sports in Florida?

You have three legal options.

Place in-person bets at one of the Seminole Tribe-controlled casinos where sports gambling has been launched.
Bet online with the Seminole Tribes’ Hard Rock Bet app or the Hard Rock Bet website.
Take a gambling cruise that travels three miles out into international waters. Which is sort of fuzzy, legally speaking, but it is an option.

What forms of gambling are currently legal in Florida?

Broadly speaking, Florida currently allows:

Sports gambling at Seminole-Tribe-run casinos or through the Seminole tribes’ app.
Some pari-mutuel gambling, including horse racing and cardrooms licensed by the state. Jai alai was added to the Hard Rock Bet app this year as part of the Seminole Tribes’ agreement.
Casino gambling on lands belonging to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
State-run lotteries and interstate games such as the Powerball and Mega Millions.
Bingo, raffles and drawings of chance if run by a “charitable, nonprofit, or veterans’ organization.”
Small social games.

Can I bet on sports among friends in Florida?

Not legally. It is a second-degree misdemeanor to bet on “any trial or contest of skill, speed or power or endurance of human or beast.” It’s even worse to be the person taking the bets, which is a third-degree felony.

There’s some argument over where offshore betting websites fall here, but Florida bans all betting on sports.

Except, for some reason, bowling. Bowling tournaments are exempted from this and are perfectly welcome.

Playing cards and other penny-ante games, defined as “a game or series of games of poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, or mah-jongg in which the winnings of any player in a single round, hand, or game do not exceed $10 in value” are allowed.

What is the legal age for gambling in Florida?

The minimum gambling age is 21 for casino games and 18 for lottery games, poker, bingo, and pari-mutuel betting such as horse racing and jai alai.

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Florida

Florida man kills wife, shoots stepdaughter after fight over NFL game: ‘Don’t shoot me’

Published

8 hours ago

December 27, 2025

Press Room

Florida man kills wife, shoots stepdaughter after fight over NFL game: ‘Don’t shoot me’

Police say Jason Kenney was drinking and watching football when he got mad at his wife, killed her and shot her 13-year-old daughter. A letter they found indicated he also was using cocaine.

Editor’s note: This story contains material about domestic violence and suicide. Those facing domestic abuse can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit its website for a virtual chat. If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services.

A Florida man killed his wife and shot his stepdaughter in the face following an argument over watching a football game, authorities say.

Jason Kenney, 47, had been drinking and watching Monday Night Football in his shed in Highland City, just east of Tampa, until about 11 p.m. on Dec. 22, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news conference the following day. Kenney then went inside his home and wanted to continue watching the game in the living room, where his wife Crystal was, Judd said.

Crystal Kenney didn’t want to watch football and an argument ensued. As the fight escalated, Crystal told her 12-year-old son to run to a neighbor’s house and call 911, Judd said.

As the boy ran out of the home, he heard the first gunshot. Responding deputies found Crystal dead inside, her 13-year-old daughter shot in the face and shoulder, and Jason Kenney gone. The infant daughter the couple shared was unharmed, and the 13-year-old survived the gunshot wound after the bullet hit the bridge of her nose and deflected through the top of her head, Judd said.

“The 13-year-old girl begged not to be shot – ‘Please don’t shoot me. Please don’t shoot me,’” Judd said. “And he shot her twice.”

After shooting his wife and step-daughter, Kenney drove in his truck toward the home of his late father in Lake Wales, and called his sister to tell her he had “done something very, very bad,” that he would be in the news and that it was the last time they would talk to each other, Judd said.

Kenney ended up in a shed on his father’s old property. Deputies tracked him down and when they called for him to come out, they heard a single gunshot. They found Kenney dead inside.

Judd said that a relative told deputies that Kenney had been beating on Crystal “for a while,” though the sheriff’s office has no records of any domestic violence calls or charges. Jason Kenney had no criminal history, Judd said.

Deputies found a letter written by Crystal and addressed to her husband in the room where her body was found. In it, she wrote: “You’re drinking, you’re using cocaine again. This is not the way the family should be. You need God.”

Judd said the tragedy hit close to home with deputies, particularly coming three days before Christmas.

“He absolutely destroyed a family,” Judd said. “Our homicide detectives are distraught. When you go in there, there is a beautiful Christmas tree with lots of Christmas presents under the tree, just like the nuclear family should be … and it ends up this way.”

The sheriff encouraged anyone in crisis to call 911 and ask for help. The national crisis hotline number is 988.

“How does an argument over a television program end up with a murder, an attempted murder and a suicide?” he said. “It should never happen. Call for help … Don’t hurt yourself, don’t hurt a loved one.”

Crystal Kenney’s 12-year-old son and the baby daughter she shared with Jason Kenney are now in the care of grandparents as Florida’s Department of Children and Families determines their long-term placement, Judd said.

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Florida

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to meet with Trump in Florida

Published

20 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Press Room

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to meet with Trump in Florida

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is coming to the United States Sunday to meet with President Donald Trump in Florida as the war with Russia continues.

Zelenskyy said Friday he’s meeting with President Trump Sunday at his estate in Florida. The meeting comes as the Ukrainian president hopes to get security guarantees from the U.S. as part of a revised 20-point plan to end the war.

Zelenskyy said Friday the plan is about “90 percent ready”. It would end the nearly four-year long war that started after Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022.

The announcement comes after Zelenskyy said he had a “good conversation” with U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law.

The push comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues demanding Ukraine cede territory in the eastern part of the country and Ukraine agree to never join NATO while limiting its future ability to defend itself. Russia and Ukraine are not directly negotiating, with talks to end the war mostly going through the U.S.

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Florida Lottery Cash4Life, Fantasy 5 results for Dec. 25, 2025

Published

1 day ago

December 26, 2025

Press Room

Florida Lottery Cash4Life, Fantasy 5 results for Dec. 25, 2025

The Florida Lottery offers several draw games for those hoping to win one of the available jackpots. Here’s a look at the winning numbers for games played on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 25 drawing

03-05-16-31-59, Cash Ball: 02

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from Dec. 25 drawing

Midday: 07-17-20-23-28

Evening: 04-07-11-16-22

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Dec. 25 drawing

Morning: 02

Matinee: 06

Afternoon: 12

Evening: 05

Late Night: 06

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 2 numbers from Dec. 25 drawing

Midday: 1-6, FB: 0

Evening: 3-7, FB: 6

Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 25 drawing

Midday: 4-2-5, FB: 0

Evening: 3-1-0, FB: 6

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 25 drawing

Midday: 9-0-2-2, FB: 0

Evening: 6-2-3-9, FB: 6

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Dec. 25 drawing

Midday: 6-1-3-3-6, FB: 0

Evening: 5-9-1-4-9, FB: 6

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Where can you buy Florida Lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at any authorized retailer throughout Florida, including gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. To find a retailer near you, go to Find Florida Lottery Retailers.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes of $599 or less: Claim at any authorized Florida Lottery retailer or Florida Lottery district office.
Prizes for $600 to $1 million: Must be claimed in person at any Florida Lottery district office for games that do not offer an annual payment option.
Prizes greater than $1 million and all prizes with an annual payment option: Must be claimed at Florida Lottery headquarters, except Mega Millions and Powerball prizes, which can be claimed at any Florida Lottery district office.

You also can claim your winnings by mail if the prize is $250,000 or less. Mail your ticket to the Florida Lottery with the required documentation.

Florida law requires public disclosure of winners

If you’re a winner, Florida law mandates the following information is public record:

Full name
City of residence
Game won
Date won
Amount won
Name and location of the retailer where the winning ticket was purchased.

When are the Florida Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Florida Lotto: 11:15 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
Jackpot Triple Play: 11:15 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
Fantasy 5: Daily at 1:05 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.
Cash Pop: Daily at 8:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 2:45 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 11:45 p.m.
Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: Daily at 1:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Florida digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.

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