Delaware did not have single game betting, but the state lottery did offer a parlay-style NFL wagering game called Scoreboard. PASPA prohibited all states from authorizing or regulating sports betting but included a provision grandfathering legal sports betting programs already in place or approved within one year of PASPA’s enactment in 1992.Īt the time, Nevada was the only state with actual, single-game sports betting as we know it today. “In order to keep pace with the competition, mobile sports betting of some form or another in the future is inevitable we just don’t have a timetable at the moment.” Delaware Sports Betting Historyĭelaware was one of just a handful of states with some form of sports betting in place during the PASPA years. However, Kirk acknowledged Delaware online sportsbooks will likely come sooner or later: “Will we do better with more volume, a finite number considering the size of Delaware, but a lower hold if parlay card participation by the retailer network declines precipitously? That’s a strong possibility.” “We have to balance mobile versus our very robust parlay card retailer handle,” Kirk told the Delaware Business Times in 2020.

Additionally, the lottery makes a larger profit margin off the high-hold parlay wagering product than it would with single-game online sports bets. In January 2020, DE Lottery Director Vernon Kirk explained to the Delaware Business Times the reasons behind the state’s reluctance to embrace Delaware online sports betting.Īmong those reasons, include the difficulty and cost associated with setting up the lottery for mobile betting, ID verification, payment processing, geolocation and more.

The reluctance to act in the meantime is based on several reasons. The Delaware Lottery has declined to authorize online sports betting to date but appears open to the idea of online sports betting in the future.

Will Delaware Legalize Online Sports Betting? The nation’s major professional leagues and the NCAA sued to stop Delaware from authorizing sports betting and were successful, but the law was never repealed.Īs a result, it was a simple matter for Delaware to reauthorize sports betting following the Supreme Court decision overturning PASPA. In May 2018, the Delaware Governor announced Bally’s Dover, Delaware Park and Harrington Raceway would launch a “full-scale sports gaming operation” beginning June 5 th.Įach Delaware casino is now home to a retail sportsbook:ĭelaware was able to beat New Jersey and every other state across the finish line due to a law the state enacted in 2009 in an attempt to legalize sports betting. Will Delaware Legalize Online Sports Betting?ĭelaware holds the unique distinction of being the first state other than Nevada to legalize single game sports betting.

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