If you believe that sports betting news from Florida has no effect for online gambling in America, think again. The fight for mobile sports wagers down there has gambling interests in Arizona, Connecticut, and other states paying close attention… and you should be watching, too.
No matter where you live in this great country called America, the events unfolding in Florida could have an effect on your state’s approach to online gambling. You see, Florida and the Seminole Tribe reached a deal to bring online and mobile sports betting to the state back in May. But not everyone was happy about the Seminoles new monopoly.
Some argued that the agreement was a violation of Florida’s constitution, which states no gambling can take place except on Tribal lands. That is, unless a constitutional amendment is passed. Butthe state saw a way to circumvent the amendment vote by declaring that so long as the gaming servers were on Tribal land, it did not matter where players were located. That decision could have opened the doors to radical expansion of online gambling in America.
There’s always been this legal debate about where a bet actually takes place. Is it where the player physically makes the bet? Is it where the casino physically accepts the bet? Is it on the servers which could be located miles away? Or is it some convoluted combination of all these things? When it comes to law and money, there are no simple answers. And where a virtual bet legally takes place has consequences for regulatory and tax purposes, as well as determining where people can and cannot play online games for real money!
Now however, a Federal Judge has made a decision on this matter. And even though an appeal has been filed, this is sure to set legal precedent for future online gambling in America.
