Things have been going pretty dang solid when it comes to Florida betting news, as the numbers have been quite impressive over the past year or so. However, a major issue that continues to plague the state is that illegal activity is a consistent problem. That's why plenty of people were intrigued by House Bill 189, which was getting plenty of steam. Unfortunately for those supporters, that Florida betting bill to bring down illegal activity did not pass, which has plenty of people upset.

That's right, there was strong momentum for things to get over the line, but it indeed did not get approved before the deadline last month. Because of this, it's back to the drawing board for lawmakers and officials. With this particular House Bill, it was set to regulate online betting, while also leveling things out in terms of fantasy sports, which has been a major topic of conversation among bettors and lawmakers.

One of the main issues with this particular bill was that a lot of people against it brought up the fact that it could directly compete with the 30-year pact that was signed between The Seminole Tribe and Governor Ron DeSantis. As most of you know, that particular pact gave the tribe the authority to control legal betting in the state. For now, only sports betting is permitted on authorized outlets of The Seminole Tribe, while the Hard Rock app is the lone online option for folks.

The HB 189 was set to bring plenty of reform to the betting rules and regulations in the state. Again, there was plenty of support for it, which made it seem like maybe, just maybe things were going to be given the green light. Instead, the deadline has come and gone and it wasn't approved. It will be interesting to see if new, similar legislation will be presented sooner rather than later, but for now, nothing has changed.

Online sports betting continues to be a major topic of conversation in Florida

With all of that said, online sports betting continues to be a major topic of convention in Florida. The most-recent issue that has been brought up, in addition to the House Bill failing, has been that prediction markets continue to operate. There's a fight there for things to be brought to a halt, but there's no set timeline for when a decision is going to be made one way or the other. This has also brought frustration among lawmakers, including DeSantis.

In case you missed one of our recent stories, DeSantis said he's working to get more information on these prediction markets, as it is directly impacting the operation being run by The Seminole Tribe. As mentioned above, the tribe is the driving force around the betting efforts, with the Hard Rock app being the only regulated sports betting app in the state. With places like Kalshi, Robinhood and others, they are approved at the Federal level.

Because of this, even though the Hard Rock app is the only legal online app in Florida, the betting prediction markets are still accessible to people in Florida. This of course has been an issue for other states where betting isn't legal, as several lawsuits have been filed. Florida is keeping a close eye on that, but no one knows how things are going to end up shaping out there.

NBA betting is expected to skyrocket in Florida for the postseason

Speaking of the online wagers, there's no question that NBA betting is expected to skyrocket in Florida for the postseason. On one hand, there's plenty of disappointment with the Miami Heat being out of things, but the Orlando Magic are ready to make a splash and turn some heads.

As of this writing, the Magic are in a competitive series with the Detroit Pistons, holding strong odds via the best NBA sportsbooks to potentially move on to the next round. It goes without saying, but the further the Magic can go in the postseason, the better the betting handle will be, as Magic fans are quite invested with how things will go. With so much young talent in Orlando, it's no surprise that people are thrilled with how the team is looking.

The Magic aren't the only team people are following closely, though, as the Oklahoma City Thunder hold the best NBA Finals odds and they look like serious contenders to win it all against. People all over Florida are of course focused on the Magic, but they aren't forgetting about the Thunder. Because of this, both in-person and online betting should be on the rise, which could create plenty of tax revenue as well.