Sports betting in the state of Florida largely does not exist. The state had a chance to move forward legislation a few years ago but was shot down by popular vote, one that was encouraged by scores of radio and TV ads funded by Disney and Indian tribes.
As with everything there are exceptions. You just have to know where to look. Full sports betting can be found on casino boats that leave ports in Florida. Once they go out about 5 miles, the games begin. You can bet on just about anything in international waters.
In South Florida, a game called Jai Alai can be bet upon too. This is one of the rare exceptions to the states anti-sports gambling position. If you don’t know what Jai Alai is, and you are an old-timer like me, think back to the opening credits on the Miami Vice TV show of the 80’s. The clip is of a guy wearing a helmet flinging a ball against a wall using a long wooden cup that fits over the hand like a glove.
The sport is sort-of grandfathered in. It began in Spain about 400 years ago and has been played by latin-American countries ever since. South Florida has a large Cuban immigrant population and the sport has been popular there for a long while. International sportsbook William Hill has entered into contract allowing them to take the bets placed at these Jai Alai locations.
You can bet that this foot-in-the-door will be helpful for William Hill when Floridians realize they were duped into voting down sports betting by carefully-crafted marketing plans.
