JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – 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.
With the booming sports betting industry, lawmakers and even the professional sports leagues themselves are making it easier, faster and more tempting for people to bet on games — and develop gambling problems, say gambling researchers and addiction specialists.
Hard Rock numbers are already climbing for the Jaguars game on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. As of Thursday afternoon, almost 80,000 people have put money on the game.
But Dr. Justin D’Arienzo said don’t do it.
“I tell people you, know you, stay away. Don’t even start you know. And I know that is so alluring because I mean, they have I mean, you have celebrities and sportscasters and athletes that are endorsing this stuff,” he said. “It’s legal in most of our states in the United States, which I think is going to have a real negative outcome. It’s going to be just it’s another addiction that we’re going to have to have to manage.”