Hard Rock Bet Launches Historical NASCAR Racing Games in Florida

^{Historical NASCAR race results fuel Hard Rock Bet’s new historical racing games in Florida. (Photo: Steve Oehlenschlager / Alamy)}

Hard Rock Bet – the online gambling portal of the Seminole Tribe of Florida – launched a new product called “Games” in Florida on Tuesday, moving the site a step closer to offering online casino gambling in the state.

The “Games” category on Hard Rock Bet notes that these slots-like titles are “Powered by Past Motor Racing,” putting them in a category similar to Historic Horse Racing (HHR) machines.

Game Results Based on Races, Not RNG

The games, which are still categorized as sports bets, have a minimum bet of $1. After placing a wager, the player will spin the reels of what looks like a typical slot machine, with payouts based on matching symbols.

However, what’s determining the results of those spins is very different than in a true slot machine. Rather than a random number generator, the game uses the results of previous NASCAR races. Players are asked to select drivers who will finish in winning positions in each of those three races based on statistics provided.

After making those selections, the spin on the machine is based entirely on how well the chosen drivers did and the odds presented on each one winning the given races. The longer the odds of a correct choice, the bigger the corresponding win on that spin.

Given the speed of play, many users will simply allow the game to autopick drivers, making the results effectively random. Still, the basis of the results does allow users to verify the fairness of the machine in real time: an option to enter “Race View” allows users to see the actual race results that determined the result of the last spin, as well as the finishing positions of their drivers.

Florida Compact Allows for Online Sports Betting, Not Casino Games

The historical NASCAR games are designed to qualify as sports betting under the Seminole Tribe’s current compact with the state of Florida.

Under that agreement, the tribe has been granted the exclusive right to online sports betting in the state, as long as the servers that take the bets are located on tribal land. From there, bettors throughout all of Florida have been able to access traditional sports betting since late 2023.

However, that compact does not authorize online casino gambling. As such, the games on Hard Rock Bet must be based on a sports betting foundation – even if they may look like slots to the average user.

But even standard online sports betting was a controversial addition to what the Seminole Tribe could offer to Floridians. The attempt to offer such games has survived several legal challenges, including one from pari-mutuel companies which argued that placing the servers for online gambling on tribal land wasn’t enough to satisfy the requirements of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. There have also been state lawsuits alleging that online sports betting should have required voter approval under the Florida constitution.