Florida Sports Betting Increases to Start NFL Season

The 2024 NFL season is only one week old, and already the Florida sports betting market has experienced an increase in business.

Indeed, upticks in betting on the NFL are standard fare this time of year. It is the most popular sport in the United States, and Week 1 always invites a metric ton of action. It also helps that the Florida market has two teams with immediate hopes of winning on their shoulders, in the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Still, even by those standards, the early returns suggest that sports betting in Florida will be on the rise throughout the 2024 NFL season. Let us dig into the major reasons why.

Major Florida Sports Betting Action for Jaguars vs. Dolphins in Week 1

Part of the Florida sports betting handle increase can be chalked up to Week 1 NFL matchups. The Sunshine State’s two teams, Miami and Jacksonville, actually squared off against one another. That intrastate rivalry is always good for an extra dose of action.

However, Hard Rock Bet in Florida seemed to be busier than usual. In fact, according to News 4 in Jacksonville, around 80,000 people bet on Dolphins vs. Jaguars odds. And that was as of Thursday! The game itself did not take place until Sunday afternoon. There is a real chance that number increased by at least a few thousand wagers.

Granted, without data comparing previous matchups, it’s impossible to know if this ranks as an outlier. Then again, it has to be an outlier. Florida sports betting was not legal this time last year. Remember, the Seminole tribe relaunched Hard Rock Bet services in November 2023. Also, the Dolphins and Jaguars did not face each other during the last regular season. Regardless, 80,000-plus wagers on a single game in a single market is positively bonkers.

Betting on NFL Futures in Florida Proving to be a Hot Ticket Item

Of course, it isn’t just single-game wagers fueling the NFL betting market in Florida. Futures are incredibly popular in advance of Week 1. After all, on balance, that’s when sportsbooks in the United States are offering the most appealing odds. Sure, certain gamblers can capitalize off slow starts and invest in teams with slumping stocks. Overall, though, betting on NFL futures is most lucrative—meaning, it features the biggest payouts—when you submit wagers prior to the opening of the regular season.

As it turns out, customers took advantage of preseason NFL Super Bowl odds at Hard Rock Bet in Florida. And the action was not just funneled toward the Dolphins and Jaguars. Heck, it wasn’t even confined to just NFL teams in the southeast region.

“And at Hard Rock Bet in Florida, a customer got down large on the [Green Bay] Packers to win the Super Bowl,” FOX Sports’ Patrick Everson. “The wager was for $55,000 at +1750, to win a whopping $962,500, for a total payout of $1.0175 million—if the Packers go the distance.”

Not every NFL futures bet is worth tens of thousands of dollars. With this said, the futures market does tend to invite larger average wagers.

Payouts for any team are typically well over 1-to-1 when betting on who will win the NFL Super Bowl. Sometimes, this can encourage customers to throw tiny amounts on teams with long odds. As Everson noted, one person put $500 on the New York Giants to win the Super Bowl. If that wager hits, the bettor will turn a $100,000 profit.

And by the way, $500 is on the high end of a long-shot bet. So you can only imagine what type of money people are prepared to invest in actual Super Bowl contenders.

Long-Term Revenue Projections for Sports Betting in The Sunshine State are Reaching New Heights

The impact of NFL online betting in Florida isn’t just making for fun anecdotes and shifting immediate projections. It is also having an influence on the bigger picture. As FOX 4 in Jacksonville’s Josh Asebes reports:

“Late in 2023, the Seminole Tribe launched into an agreement that gave the tribe exclusive rights to handle all online sports betting in Florida. The agreement survived a legal challenge and Florida’s share of revenues was $357 million from last December through May, the Seminole Tribe reported in June. State economic forecasters predict that the revenue sharing from tribal gambling could total $4.4 billion through the end of this decade.”

That final number is an attention-grabber. With roughly a half-decade left in the 2020s, a $4.4 billion estimate amounts to $800 million in Florida sports betting per year. (That’s after subtracting the current $357 million from the table.)

Like all matters, the view of Florida sports betting is divisive. Experts have cautioned against the ill effects of legal wagering, which studies show include a rise in problem gambling reports. That’s a legitimate issue every sports betting market in the United States should strive to address. We have seen some states take steps toward limiting the impact of sports betting operators. Advertising restrictions as well as individual gambling limits feel inevitable across the country.

Immediately, though, we’re not sure much will change in Florida. They have already restricted their sports betting scope by granting the Seminole Tribe exclusivity. In all likelihood, they won’t look to change much—or even expand—until the current gaming compact nears expiration.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: