SportsBettingInDelaware.com

Legal Delaware Sports Betting Is Finally On The Right Track

Daniel Borjas — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 17:56:00 +0000

Delaware’s Q1 sports betting numbers have topped $3.1 million, a large improvement over last quarter.
The state still has a long way to go to reach its $23.5 budgetary estimate of annual sports betting revenue.
Online sports betting has not yet been rolled out.

DOVER, Del. – After a rough rollout and under-performing wagering numbers, Delaware sports betting seems to be off to a stronger start in 2019. March was the industry’s best month yet, earning $1.6 million in revenue.

Lately, the narrative from sports wagering critics in Delaware was how the state was misled – or itself misled the public – in suggesting that sports wagering would generate state revenues of $23.5 million.

However, current trends indicate that that figure isn’t all that far-fetched. The net proceeds (i.e. state profit) from January 1 through March 31 are $3.1 million on a total handle of $30.9 million. The state thus achieved an effective take of 10 percent.

This number omits earnings that went towards vendor fees and service charges, so the actual hold was even higher at 11.5 percent. Most sportsbooks are not able to maintain these kinds of success rates, but they’re not unprecedented.

Stretched out over the course of the year, assuming this quarter’s data holds steady, that would put Delaware on track for a total 2019 haul of $12.4 million in wagering revenue. (Remember, sports betting in Delaware is a product of the state lottery, allowing all betting proceeds to go straight into state coffers.)

Of course, $12.4 million is much less than the budgetary estimate of $23.5 million (which assumes a mature market and statewide online sports betting). But the scenario above – where the wagering holds steady at these Q1 volumes – is not likely to happen.

Instead, it’s probably going to go up.

Unlike in 2018, Delaware sports wagering will see both a full NFL season and NCAAF season this year. In the US, football has long been the peak of the sports wagering annum.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Delaware hits its estimate sooner rather than later, especially if Internet-based mobile sports betting launches in time for the start of football season.

What’s Going On With Delaware’s Online Sports Betting?

Unfortunately, though online sports wagering is completely legal in Delaware and would operate under the direct purview of the state lottery, the product has not rolled out yet. And that’s holding Delaware’s sports betting numbers back.

For perspective, the Delaware lottery offers a number of online games within its iGaming platform. These allow state residents to play virtual poker, slots, and table games from home.

In the state year to date, iGaming has been exceedingly popular, seeing some $31.1 million in wagers placed. However, the house retention of this action is poor, with payouts totaling roughly $30.2 million.

Thus, with its iGaming product, Delaware’s total revenue (even before vendor fees) is just $900,000. That’s a mere 3% keep for the house.

Sports betting offered online, of course, will be more popular and far more profitable on a per capita basis.

In order for Delaware to achieve its sports wagering revenue projections, it will need to deploy fully-fledged, statewide mobile betting. Without access to sports betting in Delaware over the Internet, the vast majority of potential bettors’ needs simply won’t be met.

Delaware’s wagering figures are looking better so far this year, but work still needs to be done to maximize state revenues. In the absence of online betting, that $23.5 million budget allotment might seem like a pipedream.

With it, that number actually seems a little low.

The post Legal Delaware Sports Betting Is Finally On The Right Track first appeared on SportsBettingInDelaware.com.

Delaware North Seeks Contract Termination With Miomni Gaming

Daniel Borjas — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 17:59:00 +0000

Delaware North wants to end a partnership with Miomni Gaming.
Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras casinos sportsbooks completely missed March Madness due to a contract dispute.
Will take several months for the sportsbooks to open back up.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Delaware North is seeking a contract termination with sportsbook provider Miomni Gaming due to a contract dispute with a third-party technology provider, Entergaming.

Sportsbooks Shut Down

Delaware North helps operate sportsbooks like Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras Casino. These two casinos both had their sportsbooks shut down due to a contract dispute between Miomni Gaming and Entergaming. The details of the dispute are unclear, but this led to all sportsbook services to shut down. This includes the shutdown of the online mobile sportsbook, BetLucky.

The sportsbooks have been down since March 6. This means that both casinos and the online service completely missed out on March Madness. This likely resulted in a large loss of revenue for the casinos.

A report from the American Gaming Association predicted that there is going to be $8.5 billion wagered on March Madness this year. $3.9 billion is to be wagered at a sportsbook. With these sportsbooks for sports betting in Delaware shut down, Mississippi also lost a lot of revenue due to the fact that no taxes were being collected from bets on the tournament.

A New Partner Is Needed

Officials from Wheeling Island are not happy with the loss of revenue due to the contract dispute. The officials told the West Virginia Lottery Commission that they are looking to seek for contract termination with Miomni Gaming.

Delaware North is also now wanting to move on and work with another sportsbook management service due to the contract dispute. Getting out of the contract could take the company a long time to do. Delaware North wants its customers to know that it could take several months before they can find a solution.

This means that the sportsbooks in Wheeling Island and Mardi Gras Casino could remain shut down until the start of football season or longer. Until then, Delaware North will continue to honor and redeem bets made before the shutdown. They are also working to make sure customers can access and withdraw their funds from their accounts.

The post Delaware North Seeks Contract Termination With Miomni Gaming first appeared on SportsBettingInDelaware.com.

Delaware Sports Betting

Michael Molter — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 18:02:00 +0000

A full array of legal sports betting in Delaware is finally ready for launch. Aptly nicknamed “The First State”, Delaware will begin to offer single-game wagering to its residents at 1:30 pm eastern time on Tuesday, June 5th, making it the first state outside of Nevada to offer legal sports betting in the United States in over 25 years. The long delay in expanded legal sports betting in Delaware is thanks to the recently overturned federal law, PASPA.

SCOTUS overturned the highly controversial PASPA legislation on May 14th, 2018, clearing the way for legal Delaware sports wagering. Prior to SCOTUS’s decision, Delaware was one of four states that allowed for limited sports wagering. They ran what essentially was an NFL parlay.

Delaware was able to make such a quick transition to full legal sports betting thanks to a prior attempt in 2009 to expand wagering options in the state. The only legal roadblock that the legislation had faced at the time was PASPA. Now that SCOTUS has put that pesky piece of legislation to rest, Representatives from Delaware, including Governor John Carney, agree that there is no longer anything standing in the way of legal sports betting in the state.

Now that Delaware will be able to offer a full range of single-game wagering, it will be run through their already highly effective lottery system. Legal sports betting in Delaware will be available at all of the casinos within the state. Delaware has three casinos: Delaware Park, located in Wilmington; Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, located in Dover; and Harrington Raceway & Casino, in Harrington. Wagering will become available at 1:30 pm, ET at all three locations. To help bettors, the Delaware Lottery has published a guide to sports betting online. It explains all of the different forms of legal sports betting available in the state.

In Delaware, you’ll be able to bet on basketball, football, baseball, hockey, soccer, golf, and auto racing. But there are a few things that you cannot do when it comes to legal sports betting in Delaware. You will not be able to bet on any Delaware-based sports teams. As there are no professional teams based in the state, this shouldn’t be too big of a blow to sports fans. What you may have noticed being left off of this list are two of the most popular sports to bet on – college football and basketball.

State legislators have confirmed that Delaware sports books plan to eventually offer a wide variety of lines on both collegiate sports, but for the time being, have left them off the list. Legal Delaware sports betting also has a new age limit. While the legal age to buy a lottery ticket in Delaware is 18, state legislators have decided to set the legal age to bet on sports in Delaware at 21. The final restriction sports betting Delaware residents face is that they must make the trip to casinos in order to place their wagers, as sportsbooks will not be available anywhere else in the state.

This could change, however, as Delaware reaps the benefits of legal sports betting. They are perfectly poised for a Nevada like expansion, which would allow for sports betting to be available anywhere lottery tickets are sold. As one of the largest state lottery systems in the country right now, Delaware has lottery tickets available at truck stops, convenience stores, and even bars. You can only guess how wide-spread this would make sportsbooks in the state. Delaware is taking it one step at a time, though, making sure that everything is done legally and properly.

Financial secretary Rick Geisenberger, who gave statements to the press in early May on the matter of legal Delaware sports betting, says that “Over time, if that’s what people are looking for, that’s what we’ll offer,” in regards to expansions.

For the last few months, Delaware casinos have been preparing for the opening of legal sportsbooks for months. “We have worked closely with Delaware’s casinos to train lottery and casino staff in preparation for a launch of expanded sports betting, and Delaware is prepared to move forward,” said Geisenberger. Each staff member you encounter will be ready to help you in all aspects of legal sports betting in Delaware, so residents, get ready to place your bets.

The post Delaware Sports Betting first appeared on SportsBettingInDelaware.com.

Where To Wager On Sports In Delaware

Michael Molter — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 18:04:00 +0000

Now that Delaware has come out as the first state to take advantage of PASPA’s overturn and offer comprehensive, full-menu sports betting to its residents and visitors, most folks are probably wondering where to wager on sports in Delaware. Fortunately, the state chose a logical series of venues to roll out its sports betting product: their three racino facilities.

Ideally, DE residents would be able to enjoy sports betting from the comfort of their own homes (as they do with legal online sportsbooks like BetOnline, SportsBetting, etc.), but state-based Internet sports betting has yet to be finalized, and it may take some time – and some extra legislation – to institute.

Until then, then, these are the three locations where sports betting is legal in Delaware, and they’ll be accepting MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, PGA, and NASCAR wagers starting on Tuesday, June 5, 2018:

Harrington Raceway and Casino
15 West Rider Road
Harrington, DE 19952
888-887-5687

As the southernmost racino in DE (located in the lower mid-west of the state), the Harrington Raceway and Casino will be offering sports betting next week (Tuesday, June 5, 2018) with live action on 50 big-screen TVs, along with the all the other gambling amusements DE patrons are used to. These include harness horse racing betting and Thoroughbred simulcasts, casino table games, a 100-seat poker room, and over 1700 slot machines.

Dover Downs Hotel and Casino
1131 N DuPont Hwy
Dover, Delaware 19901
302-674-4600

Situated near the mid-eastern edge of the state, Dover Downs is Delaware’s premier harness horse racing establishment, offering live harness racing action on the ponies from November through April (with simulcast Thoroughbred action year-round). The Dover Downs Hotel has 500 luxury rooms and a Bali-themed spa, and the casino offers table games and more than 2700 slot machines. Sports betting will be offered at Dover Down starting next week (Tuesday, June 5, 2018), and – as usual – the venue hosts various concerts and entertainment events regularly.

Delaware Park Racetrack and Slots
777 Delaware Park Blvd.
Wilmington, DE 19804
800-417-5687

Located in the northern tip of Delaware, Delaware Park Racetrack and Slots is home to the only Thoroughbred horse racing site in the state, colloquially known as DelPark. DelPark is also the only track in the mid-Atlantic region to regularly offer Arabian horse racing, and many top Kentucky Derby winners have made their debuts here. The casino portion of the venue has over 2500 slot machines and dozens of table games to choose from, and sports betting will be live on the site on Tuesday, June 5, 2018.

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