Hard Rock Bet goes live in Florida as legal challenges remain

Hard Rock Bet, the online and retail sportsbook brand operated by Seminole Gaming subsidiary Hard Rock Digital, has officially gone live in Florida following the conclusion of a soft launch period.

Retail sports betting, craps and roulette games were debuted at a star-studded event at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, as well as several other Seminole-owned retail casino properties in an occasion dubbed as “A New Era in Florida Gaming” by the tribe.

Launches will be on a staggered basis, beginning on Thursday December 7 and concluding on Monday December 11.

Hard Rock Bet’s online sportsbook has been operational for those individuals with pre-existing Hard Rock Digital accounts since the start of November, however this sportsbook will now be available to both new and existing customers alike.

In increasingly humorous posts on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, Hard Rock Bet’s social media team dialed up the expectation on the formal launch.

Florida’s total addressable market (TAM) is estimated to be $1.3bn, putting it up there with the likes of New York as a potentially lucrative market for sports betting operators.

More than 16 million (16.7 million) people in the state are above the age of 21, representing 6.8% of the total US population above this threshold.

Sports betting in Florida is currently the subject of a bitter dispute at both state and federal level.

At state level, the Seminole Tribe’s 30-year gaming compact with the state of Florida is currently the subject of a petition for a review by justices at the Florida Supreme Court, authored by West Flagler Associates and the Bonita Fort Myers Corporation.

The Florida parimutuel pair have questioned whether state officials acted unconstitutionally in approving the 30-year compact, with Governor Ron DeSantis among those under scrutiny.

An attempt to derail this launch pending completion of the Florida review failed last month, with the case still ongoing.

At federal level, West Flagler Associates is preparing a petition for a writ of certiorari, seeking a US Supreme Court review of a prior DC Court of Appeals ruling which allowed the Seminole Tribe to relaunch sports betting.

This petition is expected to land on the US Supreme Court desk in 2024.