Hard Rock Digital goes live with Florida sportsbook
Seminole Gaming subsidiary launches mobile-first app with partner-native apps set to follow
Hard Rock Digital has gone live with its debut sportsbook offering in Florida, despite questions remaining over the legality of its tribal gaming compact with the Sunshine State.
News of the Seminole Gaming subsidiary’s launch broke late on Tuesday, with Florida sports bettors lauding the new app’s customer interface, which gives them the ability to bet legally for the first time.
Didn't expect to do so online (or today) but placed my first (legal) sports bet in Florida with the Hard Rock sportsbook. I've registered for books in a half dozen or so states and this was one of the easier ones. Crisp layout. From what I see all standard bets/types you'd expect pic.twitter.com/ra7WVH4btN
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) November 1, 2021
It features major sports including football, basketball, hockey, soccer, golf, and several other sports, and is available on both Android and iOS.
To entice Sunshine State punters, the firm is offering a $100 risk free bet to new users on cash bets, excluding free bets.
It is understood the firm has embarked on a beta testing phase to iron out any potential issues with the app before rolling native versions of its app branded in the name of its sports betting partner.
For example: Palm Beach Kennel Club sportsbook powered by Hard Rock Digital.
Hard Rock Digital is currently partnered with five Florida-based parimutuel operators for sportsbook.
These include the Palm Beach Kennel Club, West Palm Beach; Hialeah Park Casino, Hialeah; Ocala Gainesville Poker and Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company, Ocala; Tampa Bay Downs, Tampa and TGT Poker & Racebook, Tampa.
Under the terms of the agreement, the parimutuels will market the Hard Rock sportsbook at their facilities and in return earn 60% of the profits that are generated from their marketing efforts.
Hard Rock Digital’s parent, the Seminole Tribe, agreed a new 30-year tribal gaming compact with Florida’s state government in May, giving it exclusivity on the offering of sports betting.
Under the compact, competing operators can enter the state’s sports betting market but must operate as skins under technology provided by Seminole partner Hard Rock Digital.
Any operator using the Seminole platform is required to pay 40% of its revenue to the tribe – a potential deterrent for prospective operators.
Transactions would go through servers located on tribal land in a so-called “hub-and-spoke” model, something that bypasses both federal and state law, which both deem sports betting in Florida illegal.
It has been viewed as a controversial agreement which has already been challenged in the courts. The Sunshine State is also the subject of significant lobbying activity from campaigns backed by DraftKings and FanDuel, which have argued for the widening of legislation, countered by the Seminoles, which have argued for its limitation.
The latest legal challenge against the compact is due to be heard at a court in Washington DC on Friday after excessive campaigning by plaintiffs West Flagler Associates and the federal government.