Delaware Sports Gambling Case Study

Delaware’s first attempt at sports gambling was a colossal failure. The state launched the same kind of parlay betting, or sports lottery, just as Oregon did. Although, Delaware tried it thirteen years earlier in 1976. The NFL immediately responded with a temporary restraining order against the state of Delaware for “irreparable harm.” However, their claim was quickly denied by the courts, but the lawsuit became a moot point as Delaware’s sports lottery failed abruptly due to incompetence. This was a poorly managed government-run operation and the state shut down the sports lottery after only three weeks because it was $371,000 in debt. In fact, the program’s director voided all betting tickets after the third week, much to the chagrin of many bettors. Although, the Delaware

Subsequently, the leagues again sued the Governor of Delaware, but their contention was that the new types of wagers violated federal laws established in 1992. As a matter of fact, the sports leagues were right and Delaware is currently restricted to offering the same limited form of gambling that they featured in 1976. On the bright side for Delaware, their sports lottery has been profitable decision this time around as they’ve outsourced their operations to a Las Vegas sportsbook, Brandywine Bookmaking. The Delaware sports lottery is offered at the horse tracks and casinos in their state, in addition to some bars and restaurants. But Delaware will never generate revenues similar to those of Nevada because of the limited wagering. Consumers simply have better options in the black market. Nonetheless, Delaware’s sports lottery generated $2.3 million in profits for 2013. For the sake of comparison, that is almost exactly what Oregon generated on an annual basis, but it’s about 1% of the profits earned by Nevada’s