How to bet on the Daytona 500 in Florida. Yes, it’s legal now! So far
A rain-delayed Daytona 500 pushed to Monday still has a lot of questions for NASCAR fans. Will Brad Keselowski finally win, or will Denny Hamlin win again? Will the new Toyota bodies get them to Victory Lane? Will it rain, again?
And one big question that's finally been answered: Can I bet on it? Legally, I mean?
We're not talking about betting your buddy 20 bucks that Ryan Blaney will take it. Florida's gambling laws changed two years ago to allow sports betting at Seminole casinos but court battles delayed the launch. As of December 2023, Seminole Tribes' casinos started taking sports bets at six locations and on their app.
Here's what you need to know before you place your bets.
Is it legal to bet on the Daytona 500 in Florida?
Before 2021, most definitely not. The last two years it was legal, but not happening yet as the new law was challenged in court. But it's open now.
Keeping up with gambling laws in Florida has been something of a gamble. Some gambling was legal and some was legal only in certain places, by specific methods, and under detailed regulations. Some gambling would get you fined and/or arrested.
In 2021, 14 years after the last time the attempt failed, the Seminole Tribe struck a 30-year deal (known as a gaming compact) with the state to allow sports betting on tribal lands and also allow anyone in Florida to gamble using a mobile app hosted on tribal servers. In exchange, the tribe agreed to pay the state about $20 billion, including $2.5 billion over the first five years. The contract also allows the Seminoles to add the previously prohibited games of craps and roulette to their Florida casinos.
The Seminoles launched the app in 2021 but quickly shut it back down after pari-mutuel owners filed a lawsuit alleging it violated federal law because it allowed betting anywhere, not just in tribal casinos and would cause a “significant and potentially devastating impact” on their operations. That two-year fight has moved through several courts as the tribe moved forward on in-person bets. Last week the pari-mutuels petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to block that part of the law.
In November the tribe quietly relaunched the app but restricted its use to people who had already physically visited a Hard Rock or Seminole Casino to earn "Unity points," as an effort to sidestep the "anywhere in Florida" problem. In-person sports gambling began rolling out at some Seminole-controlled casinos on Dec. 7, 2023, in a massive star-studded celebration and the restrictions were removed from the app, despite the ongoing legal battle.
Is Daytona International Speedway OK with bets on the Daytona 500?
Oh, they're all in. The Daytona International Speedway announced a partnership with Hard Rock Digital in January to make them the Official Sportsbook for The World Center of Racing and an Authorized Gaming Operator of NASCAR. They're also the only legal sportsbook in Florida, but hey. Race fans will now walk into the "Hard Rock Bet Fanzone" and the app is being promoted on the DIS website.
“Our fans are some of the most enthusiastic when it comes to representing their favorite drivers and now, they can take that passion even further,” said Daytona International Speedway President Frank Kelleher. “Between the Rolex 24 at Daytona, The Daytona 500, Bike Week Presented by Monster Energy and so much more, fans will be able to engage with them all in the Hard Rock Bet Fanzone right here at The World Center of Racing.”
How can I bet on the Daytona 500 in Florida?
You have three legal options.
Place your bets in person at one of the Seminole Tribe-controlled casinos where sports gambling has been launched.
Bet online with the Seminole Tribes' Hard Rock Bet app (iOS | Android) or the Hard Rock Bet website.
Take one of the gambling cruises that travels three miles out into international waters. Which is sort of fuzzy, legally speaking, but it is an option.
There are online apps that claim to be based on offshore locations and therefore legal in Florida, but those are on even shakier legal grounds and using those is, frankly, a gamble.
If you sign up for the app you get a No Regret First Bet up to $100, meaning if your first wager loses you'll get back up to $100 in bonus bets to make later (no cash back).
What can I bet on for the Daytona 500 in Florida?
Hard Rock Bet is taking bets for:
Daytona 500 winner
Car Number of Race Winner
Team of Race Winner
Top 3
Top 5
Top 10
Winning Manufacturer
Car Number of Race Winner (O/U)
Top Chevrolet Driver
Top Ford Driver
Top Toyota Driver
Who can bet on the Daytona 500 in Florida?
Anyone who is 21 and over, located in the state, and bets in person at an approved casino or has an account with the Hard Rock Bet app and website in good standing may place bets on sporting events.
Can I bet on whether it will rain?
Not legally, not in a U.S.-based sportsbook. Rules differ from state to state, but generally you only can wager on what happens on the track.
"We don’t want any subjectivity in a prop (bet),” BetMGM public relations manager John Ewing said about non-play bets for the Super Bowl. “We want it to be either it won or it didn’t win or went over or went under, and that’s the concern for regulators as well. That’s why typically we stick to if it’s in the box score, it can be posted."
Besides, how would you find someone to bet that it won't?
What are the latest Daytona 500 odds?
As of Monday morning, these drivers are the favorites. Odds are listed as +1000, which means a bet of $100 would get $1,000, or higher. Check Hard Rock Bet for the most up-to-date odds.
+900: Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin
+1200: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney
+1300: Chase Elliott,
+1500: Kyle Larson
+1600: Christopher Bell
+1750: Martin Truex. Jr., Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, William Byron
+2000: Michael McDowell, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick,
+2500: Ross Chastain, Erik Jones, Austin Cindric,
+3000: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon
Or if you like longshots, Kax Grala is at +10000.
Contributing: Ryan Pritt, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona 500: Sports gambling now legal in Florida, here's how to bet
