Hard Rock Grabs More Control of Florida Sports Betting

Hard Rock Bet is further expanding its influence over Florida sports betting.

On the one hand, you might not see how that is possible. In partnership with the Seminole Tribe, they are the exclusive provider of sports betting in Florida. Can you really build upon that?

The answer is yes.

The Hard Rock Bet sportsbook is apparently not content to only ride the coattails of its alliance with the Seminole Tribe. So, as Adam Roarty of Casino Beats breaks down, they are striking a partnership with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

“Hard Rock Bet has announced a partnership with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, further tightening the platform’s exclusive right to offer legal online sports betting in Florida. In a press release, Nick Menas, spokesperson for Hard Rock Bet, stated: “This partnership will elevate the way fans connect with the Buccaneers and bring our players closer to the action through exclusive experiences and unparalleled access. ‘We’re seeing the excitement around the team in the app — as the Buccaneers are among our most heavily bet teams — and are confident we’ll continue to see that level of engagement and enthusiasm throughout the partnership.’”

This level of Buccaneers betting engagement comes as little surprise. The market for betting on the NFL is ramping up with the Week 1 of the 2025 regular season scheduled to kick off on Thursday, September 4. And believe it or not, this agreement also gives the Hard Rock another kind of Florida sports betting monopoly.

Hard Rock Now Has Florida Sports Betting Partnerships with All of the State’s NFL Teams

Don’t bother framing this partnership as Hard Rock Bet choosing to do business with the Bucs over other in-state teams like the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars. They already have partnerships with them. Hashing out one with the Bucs gives them a relationship with all three franchises, further positioning them to expand their market exposure.

This deal with Tampa Bay will follow a similar blueprint. Fans will have special in-stadium opportunities, and the team’s mobile app will have direct branding from the Hard Rock Bet Florida sports betting app.

Equally critical, this partnership sets up Hard Rock Bet for a long presence in The Sunshine State. As of now, the Seminole Tribe faces no Florida sports betting competition. But this may one day change. It might not happen anytime soon, but it stands to reason that legislators will eventually want the market to expand beyond one controlling operator.

If and when it does, Hard Rock Bet will have a leg up over other mobile sportsbooks. Not only will they have already operated in the market for a while, but they will establish partnerships with every NFL team. That is a big deal when you consider NFL online betting is the single biggest industry draw in the country.

Partnership with Bucs Could Also Help Hard Rock Bet Expand Outside Florida

Linking up with Tampa Bay isn’t only about Florida sports betting, mind you. While there is room for Hard Rock Bet to grow, they already have the market on lock. Having more branding at Bucs games will help them expand their market share for online sports betting in the United States at large.

As Roarty explains, this is a crucial goal for Hard Rock Bet, as they are starting to cede ground to other online sportsbooks:

“While FanDuel and DraftKings dominate the sports betting market in the US, Hard Rock Bet is among the other leading platforms. Its 5 percent market share is ahead of ESPN Bet’s share of around 3 percent, as well as just ahead of Caesars and BetMGM. ESPN’s recent deal with the NFL is expected to lead to a greater number of football bettors gambling on ESPN Bet this coming season. The platform, operated by PENN Entertainment, launched FanCenter last week with the aim of monetizing ESPN’s purchase of RedZone, NFL Network, and the NFL’s fantasy football operations.”

As you can see, Hard Rock Bet does not have a large margin for error outside the Florida sports betting market. That can potentially become problematic. Sportsbooks in the United States are struggling to eat into the overall market shares of FanDuel and DraftKings. So, conceding influence to operators you are already in front of stands to be disastrous.

ESPN Bet’s NFL Deal May Have Influenced Hard Rock Bet’s Approach with Bucs

All of this makes Hard Rock Bet’s latest Florida sports betting partnership two-fold. At a national level, they will have more of their branding on TV broadcasts outside of The Sunshine State. This is not akin to free advertising. But it can help with brand awareness. More people will be reminded of Hard Rock Bet simply by virtue of seeing their logo splattered across Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay.

Beyond that, this also acts as a counter-punch to ESPN Bet’s deal with the NFL at large. Granted, Hard Rock doesn’t have to worry about it inside the Florida sports betting market. Again, they are the state’s only provider, thanks to the Seminole Tribe’s gaming compact. But this is not true in other states, where ESPN Bet is more direct competition.

Spreading their presence as far and wide as possible, then, isn’t just about expanding their market share. It is also about protecting the business they already have in place.

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