Is Sports Betting Legal in Delaware?
Yes! Sportsbetting, horse racing betting, daily fantasy sports and online gambling are legal in Delaware.
New Jersey, which had been fighting against the Supreme Court case (Murphy v. NCAA) that put an end to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), was upstaged by Delaware by becoming the first state other than Nevada to legally allow single game sports betting in the US since PASPA took effect in 1993.
It was in May 2018 that Governor John Carney announced that three casinos in Delaware which were licensed (Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway) started to bet legally on sports on June 5th.
As a result, people from Delaware were allowed to bet on individual games of the most popular college teams (e.g. Division I University of Delaware Blue Hens and the Delaware State University Hornets) as well as baseball, football, hockey, basketball, tennis golf, soccer, boxing and auto racing. The company that provides sports betting services in Delaware’s three casinos is William Hill through its agreement with the Delaware Lottery.
Gov. John Carney made history on June 5, 2018 by being the first person in a state other than Nevada to place a legal single game bet. The Delaware Governor staked $10 on the Philadelphia Phillies against the Chicago Cubs at odds of +200. Carney’s initial legal sports bet turned out to be successful as it won with the Phillies winning over Cubs by 6-1 and Carey pocketing $20 as profit.
Is Mobile Sports Betting Available in Delaware?
Mobile sports wagering is legal in Delaware, according to lottery officials, but it is not offered at this time.
In January 2020, the Director of Delaware Lottery Vernon Kirk explained why the First State has been hesitant towards mobile sports betting. Reason being it is a complex process to set up the lottery for ID verification, payment processing, geolocation, fraud monitoring, customer support and more which will come at cost implications. Besides that, the parlay cards in Delaware offer a larger profit margin than single game online betting as per the opinion of the lottery.
If you are residing in Delaware and wish to bet on sports online, it pleases me greatly to inform you that the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a shift of mind among those behind sports betting in Delaware. The officials now think that the cost of introducing online sports gambling in DE is relatively low compared to all the money lost when retail stores were compelled to close temporarily.
The state missed out on millions of dollars in revenue because there was no online option. Because of this, many Delaware dwellers registered with licensed offshore sportsbooks to bet on the few games that were still happening globally amid the pandemic. In advance of COVID-19 going global, several people from here traveled to Pennsylvania and New Jersey to bet on sports legally over the internet.
Despite having no NFL team in the state, football betting has become one of the most loved activities in Delaware. Beginning from 2009, parlay cards have been offered by the Delaware Lottery enabling those who are above 21 years to bet for NFL and college football games.
Delaware Lottery, in its five types of football parlay cards, offers 1/2 point, teaser, super teaser, reverse teaser and $100,000 parlay card. It has more than 100 outlets as well as bars where these cards are found in the state and Delaware’s three retail sportsbooks.
These parlay cards have a $2 minimum bet if you are a newbie in Delaware football betting, and you must choose at least three. In the entire state of Delaware there is no facility that will not pay winning tickets worth $600 or less at one of its Parlors. But, if your winnings amount to more than $600, then you cannot cash it in at any such Kiosks but rather send it by mail to Delaware State Lottery or go to one of Delaware’s retail sports betting locations.
Before the year 2018, betting on NFL games and the Super Bowl were done by football fans in Delaware only through licensed offshore sportsbooks. In Delaware’s vicinity to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, many people like to put money on the Philadelphia Eagles for them to win.
Horse Racing Betting in Delaware
Horse racing gambling is a key part of the gaming industry in Delaware. In-person, online and over-the-counter wagering on horse races is permitted by Delaware, which is the first state.
Those who are 18 years and older citizens can sign up with horse race betting websites in the US that accept those from the state of Delaware. TVG, Twinspires and AmWager are some of the popular advance deposit wagering (ADW) sites.
Still, Delaware has not formally approved ADW despite the presence of horse racing betting sites for Delawareans. Last year, a bill dubbed HB 251 was brought before the state legislature to legalize, regulate and tax ADW providers, but it stalled in committee.
So, you can place wagers with ADWs based in other states and get the same odds like if you were at the racetrack in person.
The First State currently boasts of about three racinos.
- Delaware Park
- Dover Downs
- Harrington Raceway
The only thoroughbred racetrack in Delaware is Delaware Park, while Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway operate as harness racetracks. May through October is the period when racing takes place at Delaware Park for Thoroughbreds and purebreds. To bet on harness racing you can go to either Dover Downs from November to April or Harrington Raceway from April to October.
While the Harness Racing Commission oversees harness racing, the Thoroughbred Racing Commission is responsible for overseeing thoroughbred racing in the state.
Daily Fantasy Sports in Delaware
Among the few states in America that recognize and govern daily fantasy sports betting, there is Delaware. (16 words)
This is despite the Delaware Department of Justice claiming in March 2016 that DFS sites were in violation of state gambling laws, yet the DOJ opted not to act because there had been a bill moving towards legalization which would have permitted FanDuel and DraftKings to operate legally in the state.
Meanwhile, in that year’s subsequent attempts to pass fantasy sports legislation fell flat, the Delaware Department of Justice sent letters to FanDuel and DraftKings ordering them to stop their operations in Delaware.
DE HB 249 was signed into law by Gov. John Carney on July 26, 2017, making daily fantasy sports legal in Delaware, much to the delight of FanDuel and DraftKings but distressing smaller operators who had to exit the market since the Delaware DFS bill demands that operators be required to pay a $50,000 licensing fee and submit themselves to a tax rate of either 15.5% or the highest rate established anywhere else in the country.
Daily fantasy sports contests are overseen by the fantasy branch of the Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement, which is responsible for deciding which DFS sites can operate in Delaware, making sure approved sites comply with state laws and handling customer complaints.
Where can you bet on sports in Delaware? Delaware has three places where people can bet on sports: Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway. However, mobile or online betting on sports is illegal in Delaware at the moment, but many foreign registered BetByGeooks to intensify accept wagers by First State residents without any problem.
Is there online betting in Delaware? Despite the fact that online sports gaming is permissible in Delaware, it is now lawful. In fact, there are numerous safe offshore licensed sportBetByGeooks that happily accept bets from Delawareans. To wager on global events from around the world, pick any one of the sportBetByGeooks listed at the top of this page.
Who can bet on sports in Delaware? In Delaware, no person below twenty-one years of age is allowed to gamble, establish winnings or hang around the sports betting area of a licensed site. A minimum age limit for gambling is 21.
Q. Who determines the rules for sports gambling in Delaware? A. Sports wagering in Delaware is done through the Director of the Lottery as established by Title 29 of Delaware Code, as provided for by Delaware State Lottery Office.
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