If you’re trying to get a Florida gambling license, the hard truth comes first: the state has not issued a new pari-mutuel wagering permit since January 1, 2021, and because cardroom and slot machine licenses both require an active pari-mutuel permit underneath them, that freeze effectively closes the door on new gaming operations across the board.1Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 550.054 – Permits Authorized The realistic path into the industry today is buying or transferring an existing permitted operation, and that transfer still requires Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) approval, full financial disclosure, and background checks on every new owner.
The Three-Layer License Structure
Florida stacks its gaming authorizations. The pari-mutuel wagering permit under Chapter 550 sits at the bottom and covers horse racing, jai alai, harness racing, and greyhound racing (now largely dormant). On top of that permit, an eligible facility can add a cardroom license under Section 849.086 for poker and dominoes, or a slot machine license under Chapter 551. Neither of those upper licenses can exist without an active pari-mutuel permit at the same facility. Individual workers at these facilities need their own occupational licenses on top of everything else.
The 2021 Moratorium and What It Means for New Entrants
Under Section 550.054, only entities that held an operating license for the 2020–2021 fiscal year, or that hold a permit under the narrow exception in Section 550.3345, remain eligible to hold pari-mutuel permits going forward.1Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 550.054 – Permits Authorized Someone who wants to open a cardroom or a slot facility in 2025 cannot simply file a fresh application. They have to acquire an existing pari-mutuel permitholder, and the acquisition triggers the same disclosure and background review that a first-time applicant would face.
Pari-Mutuel Permit Requirements
Anyone taking over a permit must submit detailed financials showing the operation will be profitable: assets, liabilities, three-year projected income, and disclosure of any pending litigation.2Legal Information Institute. Florida Admin Code Rule 75-4.002 – Evaluating a Permit Application Every owner, partner, officer, and director gets fingerprinted for a criminal background check. The FGCC also weighs whether the permit would grow total state pari-mutuel revenue rather than just siphoning it from existing facilities.
Location matters too. A new horse or harness racing facility cannot sit within 100 miles of an existing pari-mutuel facility, and a new jai alai fronton cannot sit within 50 miles of one, measured in a straight line between property lines.1Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 550.054 – Permits Authorized Once a complete application lands with the FGCC, the commission has 120 days to act; an application not decided in that window is deemed approved.
The pari-mutuel business license itself runs on a three-year cycle effective July 1, with a $120 fee for the full three-year term.3MyFloridaLicense. Pari-Mutuel Business License – Renewal Every officer, director, manager, and shareholder holding 10 percent or more must individually hold a current pari-mutuel professional occupational license.
Adding a Cardroom License
A cardroom license authorizes poker and dominoes played nonbanking, meaning the house is not the bank against players.4Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 849.086 – Authorized Cardrooms Only a licensed pari-mutuel permitholder can apply, and the cardroom has to operate at the same facility. The initial license issues only after the facility is built and the permitholder has run its first day of live pari-mutuel activity.
The fee is $1,000 per table per year. A 30-table poker room pays $30,000 annually. Renewal happens alongside the yearly pari-mutuel license application, and a permitholder who forgets to add the cardroom line can amend the application to include it.
Operations are constrained. All wagering runs through chips or tokens bought from the house, and cash on the table is prohibited. Designated-player poker games, in which one player covers others’ wagers, are capped at 10 tables in counties that authorize slot machines and 30 tables in counties that don’t, with each designated-player table limited to nine players plus a nonplayer dealer. No banking games are allowed, and nothing that would violate the exclusivity terms of the Seminole Gaming Compact is permitted either.
Adding a Slot Machine License
Slot licenses under Chapter 551 are geographically narrow. Only pari-mutuel facilities in counties where voters have approved slot machines through a countywide referendum can apply. Miami-Dade and Broward were the initial approved counties, and any additional county has to hold its own referendum before its facilities become eligible.5Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 551 – Slot Machines The facility must also have conducted live racing or games for at least two consecutive calendar years before applying.
Slot licensees carry continuous compliance duties: keep the pari-mutuel permit and license in good standing, meet every Chapter 551 requirement, and, for thoroughbred permitholders, keep running a full live-racing schedule.
Occupational Licenses for Employees
Florida licenses individual workers, not just operators. General occupational licenses cover food service, maintenance, and support staff with access to gaming areas. Professional occupational licenses cover slot machine managers, floor supervisors, security personnel, anyone in an oversight role, and outside contractors who service slot equipment.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 551.107 – Slot Machine Occupational Licenses
Every applicant submits electronic fingerprints, which the FGCC forwards to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI for state and national criminal history checks. Those checks repeat every three years after the license issues. Disqualifying convictions include felonies for arson, drug trafficking, racketeering, or crimes reflecting a lack of good moral character. Gambling-related felony or misdemeanor convictions are also disqualifying, as is having a gaming license revoked in any jurisdiction. Pari-mutuel occupational licenses under Section 550.105 follow a similar pattern, with the FGCC able to deny, suspend, or revoke for gambling or bookmaking felonies, animal cruelty offenses, or any capital felony.7Florida Gaming Control Commission. Florida Gaming Control Statutes Consolidated
Fees at a Glance
- Pari-mutuel business license: $120 for a three-year term
- Cardroom license: $1,000 per table per year
- Slot machine license: governed by Chapter 551 and available only in referendum-approved counties
- Occupational licenses: individual, with fingerprint-based background checks renewed every three years
Penalties for Operating Without a License
The stakes for skipping the licensing process, or operating outside its terms, are steep. Operating a cardroom without a valid license is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.4Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 849.086 – Authorized Cardrooms8Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties, Applicability of Sentencing Structures A licensed operator who violates Section 849.086 faces a first-degree misdemeanor, and a second violation within three years becomes a third-degree felony.
Administrative fines run up to $1,000 per violation for pari-mutuel and cardroom operations and up to $5,000 per violation for slot facilities.9Florida House of Representatives. Florida Statutes 551.107 – Slot Machine Occupational Licenses Late cardroom tax payments carry a penalty of up to $1,000 per day until the payment is made. The FGCC can also suspend or revoke any license after a hearing, and losing a cardroom license can drag the underlying pari-mutuel permit down with it. Under the current moratorium, losing that permit is close to permanent, because there is no way to obtain a replacement.
Chapter 849 also criminalizes broader illegal gambling. Running a gambling house is a second-degree misdemeanor. Possessing or operating illegal slot machines starts as a second-degree misdemeanor and escalates to a third-degree felony on a third offense. Bookmaking is a third-degree felony that becomes a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) on a repeat offense, and courts cannot suspend or defer the finding of guilt. Promoting or conducting an illegal lottery is a third-degree felony carrying up to five years and a $5,000 fine.10Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Chapter 849 – Gambling
Sports Betting and the Seminole Compact
One boundary worth naming: Florida sports betting is not available through the state’s regular gambling license structure. Sports wagering runs through the 2021 gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which authorizes the Tribe to conduct sports betting at its facilities and through mobile devices, with mobile bets deemed to occur at the Tribe’s servers rather than the bettor’s location.11Executive Office of the Governor. 2021 Gaming Compact Between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida The compact itself acknowledges that the legality of that authorization has faced ongoing legal challenges. Operators outside the Tribe’s framework do not have independent authority to offer sports betting in Florida, and no state pari-mutuel, cardroom, or slot license grants that authority.