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State of Play’s TL;DR
- Florida’s attorney general is pressuring platforms to stop promoting alleged illegal sweepstakes casinos to state residents.
- It underscores how limited the regulated online gambling market remains in Florida.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has warned major platforms and Google to stop advertising alleged illegal sweepstakes casinos to Florida residents, a move that could affect how players encounter offshore-style gambling offers online.
Uthmeier gave platforms including Reddit and TikTok until Oct. 23 to confirm they had stopped advertising sites such as Stake and Chumba. He also sent a letter to Google, which owns YouTube, about possible promotion of sweepstakes casinos to users in Florida.
Florida steps up pressure on sweepstakes casino advertising
In the letter, Uthmeier wrote:
“It has come to my attention that your company may be advertising illegal ‘sweepstakes’ casinos on its social media platforms to residents of Florida.”
“Promoting illegal gambling is a crime under Florida law.”
Florida filed a lawsuit against Stake last month, adding to the state’s broader enforcement push around online gambling products that are not part of Florida’s regulated market.
What the current Florida market looks like
For players, the key point is that Florida’s legal online gambling framework remains narrow. Hard Rock Bet is currently the only regulated online sports betting company in Florida. Florida does not currently regulate real-money online casinos, meaning online casino play is not part of the state’s licensed market.
That distinction matters as regulators scrutinize sweepstakes casino operators and the platforms or publishers that may be promoting them.
Why this matters now
Gambling 911 claims that Florida media outlets, including the News-Press in Fort Myers, continue to feature sweepstakes casino-related content, including pages titled “Best Florida online casinos and apps to try for free this week.”
What readers should watch next is whether the platforms respond by the deadline, and whether Florida’s case involving Stake leads to additional public enforcement action. For now, Florida’s regulated online option remains limited to sports betting through Hard Rock Bet.
Based on reporting by Gilbert Horowitz for Gambling 911.
