Two of the biggest and best poker rooms in Florida are re-opening on Friday, May 22nd after operations were halted more than two months earlier due to the coronavirus outbreak. Bestbet Jacksonville.

Jacksonville is home to over 1 million residents, many of whom are avid sports fans and bettors. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the pride of the city and the only top calibre sports team in region.

Jacksonville is also a hotbed for greyhound racing in Florida with two BestBet locations that offer live greyhound racing throughout the week. Both of these locations also allow you to wager on horse racing and feature a poker room for some added gambling. Unfortunately the BestBet locations are not allowed to accept sports wagers because it’s not legal to wager on sports at land based locations in Jacksonville. If you reside in Jacksonville and want to bet on a sporting event your only option is to wager through an offshore betting website.

Is Sports Betting Legal in Jacksonville?

Operating a sportsbook or a sports betting website is not allowed in the State of Florida.

That said, there is no law against Jacksonville residents placing bets through offshore betting sites, such as the two that I have outlined below. These sportsbooks are licensed and regulated outside of the USA, which means they are not under the jurisdiction of the United States and as such they are able to accept American bettors.

Bovada.lv, our top rated sportsbook, actually only accepts players from the USA. This allows them to fully customize their offerings to cater to the needs and wants of the American sports bettor.

For the third consecutive year, the bestbet Winter Open will take start in January to kick off the new year. The 12-event series from January 17 – 26 with a $200,000 guarantee $1,100 main event. Florida's largest poker room features 88 tables in 20,000 square feet of space and includes a simulcast area where patrons can wager on thoroughbred and other racing. It also features a sushi bar and other dining options. Open M-F 10 am - 4 am and weekends 24/7. The area has been losing businesses yet the addition of the new room gives hope of improving business for them. Secondly, the poker room donates lots of money and pays lots of taxes to be there even further helping the city. Its constant donations, charity drives are all another plus. Poker, unlike house casino games is more of a upscale game.

Best Betting Sites for Jacksonville Residents

Bovada and BetOnline are our two top rated sportsbooks for Jacksonville residents. Both of these sites are very popular among American bettors and both offer a safe and secure platform from which to place your online sports wagers.

Offline Sports Betting in Jacksonville

Unfortunately, the State of Florida does not allow any establishments to accept offline sports wagers. The only State where they allow establishments to take bets at brick and mortar locations is in Nevada.

That said, Florida does allow you to place horse racing and greyhound wagers at the tracks and Jacksonville happens to be a hotbed for greyhound racing in Florida. There are two BestBet locations in the city that offer simulcast wagering on horses and greyhounds, as well as live greyhound races for you to bet on. BestBet also has a poker room at both locations for those of you who enjoy playing some cards while at the track.

BestBet

BestBet Jacksonville is the primary live racing, simulcast and poker room location in the city. They offer two locations. One in the heart of Jacksonville and another in Orange Park. You can see both locations in the map below.

You are able to wager on horse races and greyhound races from across the country at the BestBet locations. Both locations also run live greyhound races that you can view and bet on at the track.

**I should note that you are not able to wager on sports games at the track.

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• Jacksonville Jaguars