Sports Betting in Delaware

The venues include Harrington Raceway & Casino’s ‘Murphy’s Race Sportsbar & Grill’, the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino Race & Sportsbook, and Delaware Park. Currently, global sports betting operator William Hill and Scientific Games are in partnership with the Delaware State Lottery for managing the day-to-day operations of the land-based sportsbooks. It is notable that online casinos are legal in Delaware, but online sports betting is not.

In Delaware, the minimum legal gambling age for sports betting is 21. Bettors are advised that college teams based, or playing in Delaware are not eligible for inclusion on any betting ticket. This expressly excludes all NCAA betting activity which includes Delaware teams. Sports lottery retailers across the state are permitted to offer sports bets, but no online sports betting activity is allowed in the State of Delaware.

While online betting and mobile betting are discussed in the bills regarding rules and regulations of gambling, these have not been implemented yet. Residents of Delaware are within close proximity to neighboring states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania which permit online sports betting, but it is worth reiterating that Delaware online sports betting is illegal.

Delaware’s Sportsbooks

Delaware sports betting is available on any sport currently covered by the state’s 3 land-based casinos. This follows from the June 5, 2018 landmark decision by the Supreme Court to lift the federal ban on PASPA of 1992. Delaware became the first state in the nation to legalize sports betting.

However, legal sports betting is only permissible at land-based casinos in Delaware. These casinos are regulated by the Delaware State Lottery, under the authority of the Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). They include the following:

• Harrington Raceway & Casino – US Route 13, Harrington, DE, 19952
• Dover Downs Casino – 1131 North DuPont Highway, Dover DE, 19901
• Delaware Park Racetrack & Slots – 777 Delaware Park Boulevard, Wilmington, DE 19804

Regulated sportsbooks are protected by the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security Division of Gaming Enforcement. These law enforcement agencies ensure that no illegal sportsbook activity takes place in the First State. Any illegal sports betting, including online sports betting in Delaware will be prosecuted under the full weight of the law. Only a handful of Delaware sports betting locations are available, none of which are online.

The Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) stresses that while neighboring New Jersey offers online sports betting, this is restricted to legal-age sports bettors currently in New Jersey, not Delaware. The same is true of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) which limits sports betting online to legal-age bettors in Pennsylvania.

Delaware sports bettors were limited before PASPA was overturned. Many bettors chose to go with offshore online sports books, licensed or not. However, it is illegal to place bets at an offshore sportsbook for Delaware bettors. These operators are not licensed by the DGE, and they are expressly prohibited from offering their sports betting services to residents of Delaware.

It is important to stick to the rules: only land-based casinos with their sports books are legally permissible for Delaware sports bettors.

IMPORTANT: It is worth emphasizing that any foreign-based sports book that claims to offer legal online sports betting to Delaware players is running an illegal operation.

When did Delaware Online Sports Betting Become Legal

Delaware online sports betting is illegal. There is currently no legislation indicating that sports betting online is legal. However, the Supreme Court decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was a landmark ruling which resulted in legal sports betting at land-based casinos across Delaware.

In fact, Delaware became the first state to ratify legal sports betting at its 3 land-based casinos. Various aggregator platforms claim that Delaware sports bettors can play at online sports books licensed outside of Delaware – this is false information. There are currently no legal online sports books in Delaware. Sports betting online is a nonstarter.

Delaware’s progression towards increasing liberalisation of sports betting kicked off in June 2018, when DE governor John Carney signed sports betting into law for land-based operators.  Currently, Delaware State law allows for parlays and betting on individual games.

Delaware Online Sports Betting Laws

When New Jersey successfully petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, it was Delaware that swiftly passed legislation permitting legal sports betting. This took place on June 5, 2018. Currently, Delaware legislation vis-a-vis sports betting allows legal-age betters (21+) to place bets on individual games, or parlay bets on sports.

The law is unequivocal in terms of how and where sports betting can take place. Current legislation allows sports betting at Delaware’s 3 land-based casinos, and their sports books. There is no accommodation for online sports betting whatsoever. Betting activity is available on a wide range of sports across thousands of betting markets. These exclude any bets on Delaware-based collegiate teams.

Football parlays are available throughout the State of Delaware at hundreds of lottery locations. Expectations for online sports betting remain high, but it is currently illegal to place sports bets online in Delaware. Delaware attempted to push through legal sports betting in 2009, but the professional sports leagues prevented it from doing so. The erstwhile PASPA of 1992 held strong until 2018, leaving only Nevada to offer sports betting.

The first sports bet in Delaware was placed by the governor, John Carney on the day he signed it into law. He bet $10 on the Philadelphia Phillies against the Chicago Cubs at odds of +200. He won his bet, and the rest is history.

What makes a Sportsbook Site Legal to Operate in Delaware?

The DGE requires that land based casinos in Delaware must be fully licensed and regulated to offer real-money sports betting to legal-age players in the state. Since there are currently no online sports books in Delaware, it is incumbent upon the land-based operators to comply with all rules in respect of legal operations.

All Delaware-based gambling activity falls under the control of the Delaware Lottery. Back in 1976, a parlay system was implemented for sports betting purposes. This exempted Delaware from PASPA’s rules over the years. This also facilitated Delaware’s offering of single-game sports betting options. Sportsbook operators must be managed by the 3 licensed, land-based casinos that currently operate in Delaware.

What Makes a Player Eligible to Play in One of Delaware’s Sportsbooks

The law is unequivocal in terms of who is eligible to play at one of Delaware’s sportsbook operators. For starters, the player must be of legal age (21+), and physically present in the State of Delaware.

How to Identify Delaware’s Licensed Sports Betting Operators

Licensed sports books in Delaware operate under the auspices of the land-based casinos in the state. They are subject to ongoing monitoring, compliance and responsible gaming conduct under the rules of the DGE. The 3 operators include:

• Harrington Raceway & Casino – US Route 13, Harrington, DE, 19952
• Dover Downs Casino – 1131 North DuPont Highway, Dover DE, 19901
• Delaware Park Racetrack & Slots – 777 Delaware Park Boulevard, Wilmington, DE 19804

Each of them is fully licensed and regulated by the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) to offer legal sports betting services to players. The sportsbooks are offshoots of the land-based casinos and racetracks in the state. Sports bettors need to be physically present at these venues to place bets in person.

What Sports Can I Bet On

Legal sportsbooks in Delaware allow players (21+) to bet on a wide range of sports. In Delaware, sports betting is possible on single-game sports and parlays. The law is clear about specific exclusions which will be listed in the next section. The variety of sports betting options includes NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, MLS, PGA Tour, NCAA, European and other foreign sports leagues and championship events.

What Sports Can’t I Bet On?

Delaware law is crystal clear about specific exclusions that apply to land-based sports betting activity. There are 3 stringent rules that must be followed with regards to sports betting in Delaware:

• No Delaware sports betting on any high school sports.
• No Delaware sports betting is permitted on any college sports that are played in Delaware, including other states competing against one another in Delaware.
• No Delaware sports betting is permitted when a Delaware college team is competing anywhere in the US. This expressly prohibits betting on DE-based NCAA teams.

Football

Football betting takes several different forms in Delaware. NFL betting and NCAA betting options are readily available to legal-age sports bettors across Delaware. There are thousands of football betting markets for sports fans in Delaware, with live & upcoming events, futures, and different leagues.

These include XFL bets, NFL bets, NCAAF bets and CFL bets too. Futures betting is available on the NFL Championship for the upcoming season, with sports bettors able to enjoy point spread betting, totals bets, parlays and moneyline betting on an array of football selections.

The NFL remains the most heavily bet-on sport in the United States, particularly on Super Bowl Sunday when the champions of the NFL are crowned for the year. Some popular football championships for fans of sports betting in Delaware include:

• The Rose Bowl game played in Pasadena California for NCAAF teams at the Rose Bowl Stadium.
• The Allstate Sugar Bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• The Cotton Bowl game is an NCAAF game held annually in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

Basketball

Basketball betting is huge. There are several options for basketball legal sports betting in Delaware. These take place at fixed locations where you place bets in person. These include the 3 land-based casinos and the National Lottery outlets across the state.  Basketball betting is available across many different formats, including the NBA with the Eastern Conference, the Western Conference, and the playoffs.

There are 15 teams in the Eastern Conference, and 15 teams in the Western Conference. The top 8 contenders from the EC and WC vie for a spot in the playoffs. Every round is a ‘Best of 7’, and top teams advance to the latter stages of the tournament. NBA betting includes point spread betting, money line betting, parlays, and point totals. While NBA betting is incredibly popular in Delaware, NCAAB betting is equally popular with the top college basketball teams.

Known as CBB, college basketball features the most talented basketball athletes currently competing at the highest level below the NBA. College basketball culminates in the NCAA championship month known as March Madness a.k.a. the Big Dance.  This single elimination basketball contest pits the top teams against one another as they compete the NCAAB Championship.

Baseball

There are 162 games in the MLB schedule every year. That’s a lot of baseball betting for sports fans in Delaware. The MLB features 30 American League teams and National League teams. These are divided up evenly, with 15 teams in each league. However, you can place baseball bets on each of the divisions, including the following divisions in the American League: American League East, American League Central, And American League West.

There are 5 MLB teams in each division. In the National League, you can bet on the National League East, National League Central, and National League West. There are 5 MLB teams in each National League division. The MLB World Series is the most heavily bet-on baseball tournament. The leading World Series champions the New York Yankees, followed by the St Louis Cardinals, and the Boston Red Sox. Delaware sports betting options for baseball include futures bets, proposition bets, series bets, parlays, money line bet, and runline bets.