Delaware Casino and Racetrack Sportsbook Operators

Casino/RacetrackSports Betting Service Provider Launch Date
Delaware Park CasinoFanDuel GroupJune 5, 2018
Dover Downs Hotel and CasinoScientific GamesJune 5, 2018
Harrington Raceway and CasinoScientific GamesJune 5, 2018

General Summary of Sports Betting in Delaware

When it comes to sports betting, Delaware is The Little State That Could. Delaware is not the biggest, most influential sports betting state, nor is it a place anybody would mistake for Las Vegas, Nevada.

Yet there was Delaware taking sports wagers on June 5, 2018, before any other state outside Nevada. Yes, even before New Jersey, the state responsible for convincing the Supreme Court of the United States to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, better known as PASPA.

It’s not all rose-colored glasses for Delaware, though. Despite winning the race to the sports betting market, once states like New Jersey and West Virginia joined the fray, Delaware was quickly pushed to the bottom of the sports betting food chain.

It doesn’t help Delaware’s position that it only has three casinos allowed to offer sports betting: Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington. The delay in offering legislative details for online sports betting in Delaware also plays a role in it being pushed out of the sports betting spotlight. It’s expected that mobile and online wagering will dominate the sports betting industry in the United States.

Delaware Sports Betting Legislative Landscape

You can get a full glimpse of the state of the sports betting legislative landscape in Delaware by reading its Sports Lottery Rules and Regulations here.

What follows is a brief look at Delaware’s legislative landscape as it pertains to sports betting:

Delaware’s Sports Betting History

Unlike most other states during the time of PASPA, Delaware actually had something in common with Nevada: it had a form of sports betting grandfathered in.

At the time PASPA was passed in 1992, Nevada was the only state that offered a full suite of sports betting, including wagers on single games. While it didn’t have betting on the same scale, Delaware offered parlays of three or more NFL games, and as such had been the only other state to offer a legal form of sports betting in the US.

Another interesting fact about sports betting in Delaware is that in 2009, the state passed a bill that expanded sports betting to include single game wagers. Then Governor Jack Markell signed the bill into law, but toon after, Delaware lost a suit to major professional sports leagues that claimed the new bill and its regulations fell outside the scope of PASPA, and was thus illegal.

Despite losing the case, the 2009 bill was never formally repealed, which is significant because it positioned Delaware to implement sports betting quickly if PASPA were ever struck down.

As fate would have it, New Jersey took up the fight and in 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that PASPA was unconstitutional. With the previous bill sitting in wait, Governor John Carney was able to lead Delaware to its watershed moment on June 5, 2018, when it became the first state outside of Nevada to legalize sports betting.

Carney placed the first official single game sports bet in Delaware – a $10 wager on the Philadelphia Phillies to beat the Chicago Cubs. The Phillies won 6-1, making Carney a winner.

Delaware Sports Betting FAQs

When did it become legal to bet on sports in Delaware?

Delaware has featured 3+ NFL game parlays for years, but full-scale sports betting became legal in Delaware on June 5, 2018. Once the US Supreme Court struck down PASPA, Delaware was uniquely positioned to be first to the sports betting market because of a tabled, but not repealed, 2009 sports betting bill.

Where can I place a sports bet in Delaware?

There are only three places to place a bet in Delaware. Bets can be placed live and in person at the following locations:

Can I place sports bets online in Delaware?

No. Delaware has said it wants its three casinos to get used to offer full-scale sports wagers before it allows operators to enter the online market.

What sports can I bet on in Delaware?

Bets in Delaware are accepted for all professional sports, and most collegiate sports.

What types of bets can I make in Delaware?

Delaware sports betting operators offer many options for wagers, including:

Who regulates and oversees sports betting in Delaware?

The Delaware Lottery regulates sports betting in Delaware.

Given that both DFS and sports betting are legal in Delaware, will we see any hybrid games offered in the near future?

Unlike in New Jersey, where Resorts and DraftKings are partners, and The FanDuel Group is aligned with Meadowlands Racetrack for sports betting, we haven’t yet seen the two worlds collide in Delaware.

Since there is no current framework in place for mobile or online sports betting in Delaware, dreaming about sports betting-DFS hybrid products is putting the cart before the horse. We believe online sports betting is in Delaware’s future. Although Delaware and its lawmakers acted quickly to get sports betting live, they don’t appear to be in any rush to get mobile sports betting up and running.

Stay tuned to RotoGrinders for news and updates about Delaware online sports betting!