Poker in Florida: Seminole Hard Rock, pari-mutuel card rooms and online options

Florida is one of the biggest live poker states in America and one of the most restrictive online. Card rooms at horse and dog tracks and jai-alai frontons have been legal for decades, the Seminole Tribe's casinos host some of the biggest festivals in the country, and the minimum age to play poker is 18 rather than 21. Online, there is no regulated real-money room and no sign of one. Here is the picture.

Is online poker legal in Florida?

No regulated real-money online poker exists in Florida. The Seminole Tribe's 2021 compact gave it exclusive rights to online sports betting, not poker, and legislation for online poker has gone nowhere. Sweepstakes poker is the legal-by-design alternative: ClubWPT Gold accepts Florida residents from 18. Offshore sites operate outside Florida law and we do not list them. This is general information, not legal advice.

Live poker in Florida

Florida has more than thirty legal poker rooms. The Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, near Fort Lauderdale, is the headline venue and hosts the Lucky Hearts Poker Open in January, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in spring and the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in summer, the first two with WPT main events. Seminole Hard Rock Tampa, bestbet Jacksonville (the largest room in the state by tables), Isle Pompano Park, Palm Beach Kennel Club and Daytona Beach are the other big rooms. Cash games run around the clock at the major venues, and the minimum age is 18.

Events

WPT Lucky Hearts (January) and the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown (April) anchor the calendar, with the SHRPO in July–August and bestbet's Jacksonville series in between. Our venue page for the Seminole Hard Rock has more, and our tournament calendar lists the stops we track.