Legal Online Poker In Florida

Map Of The State Of Florida Did you know that poker in Florida is about as popular as casino games in Las Vegas? You might not think so at first, given as Florida is mostly known for its beaches and haughty lifestyle, but there are more than 40 live poker rooms in the Sunshine State, which means Florida has more poker rooms than Atlantic City has casinos. That's a lot of poker being played down south, and this leads many of the world's biggest poker tournaments to have legs and satellites in the state. For instance, the WSOP and WPT both host annual events there, and many online poker websites are hosting satellite events whereby a win online means a first-class ticket to Florida and a seat in a huge tournament.

At Florida online poker, we want to cover the main aspects of poker in Florida, and even get into some fun facts about poker stars and other poker goings-on in the state. We strive to ensure our information is accurate, updated, and specific to the Sunshine State, so whether you're looking for a game in a live poker room in Florida or simply want to play via an online poker room from the state, you will know how to proceed.

Best Online Poker Sites Legally Open To Florida Players

Site Name	Bonus Offer	Rating	USA
Betonline Poker	200% Max $2000
Sports Betting Poker	200% Max $2000

Is Poker Legally Allowed In Florida?

On the surface, it seems rather odd that poker is so tolerated in Florida, given the fact that commercial gambling is officially banned by the state. The long and short of it is, after years of deliberation, Florida officials finally caved in and started sanctioning the operation of live poker rooms. Of course, these poker rooms must operate on the up and up, pay taxes, and live with bureaucrats breathing down their necks in perpetuity, but poker is allowed nonetheless. Flashing over to online poker, and online gambling in general, Florida definitely keeps its foot down on the throat of the online industry and does not allow any site to be sanctioned with Florida as the license holder.

This matters very little in the grand scheme of things, however. If one wants to play online poker from Florida, all one needs is an offshore site. Florida, nor the US federal government, can touch an offshore site, so a site that's located outside of the United States does not have to comply with any of America's state or federal anti-gambling laws. And since there are no laws in Florida, or on the federal level, about Americans gambling wheresoever they choose, there is nothing the state can do to stop you from playing poker online.

Finding Legal Poker in Florida

Florida is a popular stop for some of the biggest live poker tournaments on the planet. And if one wants to stop in at Florida and play a game of Texas Hold'em, Omaha, or any other popular poker game, all one needs to do is locate a poker room from the 42 options the state offers. Here are just a few of the most popular poker rooms in Florida:

These rooms are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are over 30 others from which you can choose, and so finding legal poker in Florida isn't a hassle at all. From the Georgia line all the way down to the Keys, poker rooms are scattered all over the state, and they're all legal, safe, and most deal in some pretty exciting tournaments.

Florida's Main Senator Opposed to Legal Gambling

A state with more famous politicians than one may think, the most famous in Florida is currently Republican Presidential nominee Marco Rubio, a 44-year-old State Senator. Rubio is currently third in the polling for the Republican nomination, and he speaks to a lot of Americans personally when he talks about morality and the direction of the nation. However, a little known fact on a nationwide scale is that Rubio is incredibly anti-gambling, and proud of it. Floridians are probably already well aware of Mr. Rubio's anti-gambling nature, but the rest of the nation is about to become privy to it as well. Rubio, along with Graham from South Carolina, are trying to force a bill through Congress that would ban online gambling, yet again, for all 50 states. So not only does Marco Rubio want to ensure online gambling stays illegal in Florida; he wants to ensure it's illegal for all 330 million Americans in all 50 states.

In 2011, the Department of Justice reinterpreted the Federal Wire Act (1961) and the UIGEA (2006) and found that it was actually federal overreach, by way of the federal government attempting to tell individual states that they could not offer online gambling. After the DOJ overturned these state-based restrictions, states like Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey started offering online gambling, and these ventures have been a boon for the states' economies. But Rubio, sat in his perch thousands of miles away from these states, has taken it upon himself to be the wielder of the ban-hammer and to crush online poker. Ironically, Rubio is a conservative Republican who preaches the importance of the Constitution, which expressly says that those things not covered in the Constitution are states' issues. But Rubio doesn't believe gambling should be a state issue. He wants to ban it for everyone.

Unfortunately, a stance like Rubio's could spell bad news for poker in Florida. In a world where he gets to ram his bill through Congress, there's nothing stopping him from going after legal poker rooms in Florida. He will have a precedent, a head of steam, and may likely succeed.

Finding That Florida Experience

So, what if you're not a resident of Florida and aren't too keen on traveling there simply to play poker? Can you get that Florida experience via an online site? With such a wide array of poker rooms online today, many of which are themed, you can definitely pick up a Florida vibe with the right one. When one thinks of a Florida vibe, it would be bright, light, airy, and packed full of action. Today's poker software, especially live dealer games, are able to recreate a lot of the ambiance you would find in a poker room like Florida. So while you would have to travel to Florida to gain the literal experience of playing a Florida poker room, that experience can be emulated via a quality online site.

At www.onlinepokerflorida.net, we attempt to direct you to these sites, as well as inform you about Florida poker in a general sense. From the types of tournaments held to the poker rooms at which you can play in the state, we attempt to cover all things poker in the state of Florida.