Florida’s citizens have approved an amendment that will block the state’s legislature from expanding sports betting without a state referendum.
And this despite strong opposition from the NFL’s Florida-based Miami Dolphins. They have been insisting that the amendment in question would be the death knell of legalized sports-gambling in the State.
If the amendment had failed to approve, Florida’s state legislature could have moved to legalize sports betting at casinos. All without needing the approval of its residents.
Now, any further move by the state’s legislature to join New Jersey and legalize sports wagering in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision to strike down the anti-sports betting PASPA law will need to get a 60-per cent majority vote in a state-wide referendum for Florida residents.
Prior to the vote on the Amendment, the Dolphins – backed by Sports Fantasy giants FanDuel and DraftKings, who were among the first to open sportsbooks in New Jersey – had called on Florida voters to vote “no’’ as they believed that it would “effectively block any chance for legal sports betting in Florida.”