(AsiaGameHub) – Almost a quarter of Florida residents are placing sports bets, according to a new survey, with 80% of gamblers wagering on NFL game outcomes over the past 12 months.
The findings come from a University of North Florida and Sport Impact Jax survey of more than 800 Florida residents conducted between January and February.
Football stands out as the top sport for Floridian gamblers when it comes to betting. Fifty-five percent of online bettors reported placing at least one college football bet in the past year.
Most Floridians, the data shows, prefer straightforward wagers. The majority of punters (60%) said their bets were moneyline bets.
Also known as outrights, moneyline bets are considered the simplest form of sports wagering. They typically involve selecting one team in a head-to-head matchup before the game begins.
Florida Sports Betting Habits: Moneyline Wagers Remain Popular
Most Floridians aren’t making large sports bets. Nearly three-quarters of Sunshine State gamblers stake $20 or less per game, with just one in 10 typically betting more than $50 on a single game.
NFL betting is growing across the U.S., with bettors placing $30 billion in wagers on the league last season. However, NFL executives seem to believe the biggest profits may not come from moneyline bets but rather live-game wagers.
In March, CNN reported that the NFL has made significant investments in sportsbook provider Genius Sports.
Genius specializes in in-play betting solutions and claims it’s working to “turn traditional fans into highly engaged in-play bettors.”
The NFL holds at least a 6% ownership stake in the company, which reports that live-game betting now accounts for approximately 30% of all bets placed on NFL games.
In Florida, nearly half of punters said they had placed an in-game bet in the past 12 months.
Sports Betting Growing in Florida
Sports betting was officially legalized in Florida in 2021 through a gaming agreement with the Seminole Tribe. However, various legal challenges delayed its implementation until late 2023.
The Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Bet remains the only retail mobile sportsbook partner in the Sunshine State. Unsurprisingly, over two-thirds of Floridians say this is the platform they use to place their sports bets.
The tribe notably opened the first high-stakes bingo hall in the U.S. in 1979. Some have suggested that the tribe’s monopoly on gambling in Florida has contributed to increased criminal activity.
Law enforcement continues to target illegal betting operations across the state. Raids have resulted in arrests including a county sheriff and seizures of dozens of illegally installed slot machines.
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