Author:

Richard Miller

Last Updated:

May 1, 2021

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Richard was Marketing Manager at a global bookmaker and worked in the enterntainment sector for decades before working his way up in the world of entrepreneurs. His focus areas are mainly in the fields of sports and politics. He has a Science Degree, visited Harvard University and is now our hardworking Editor-in-Chief at BettingBilly.

Richard was Marketing Manager at a global bookmaker and worked in the enterntainment sector for decades before working his way up in the world of entrepreneurs. His focus areas are mainly in the fields of sports and politics. He has a Science Degree, visited Harvard University and is now our hardworking Editor-in-Chief at BettingBilly.

Delaware Online Sports Betting in 2021

In May 2018, the Supreme Court struck down PASPA, the law that was the main obstacle for legal sports betting across the United States. It took Delaware just days to legalize sports betting across the state as they beat even New Jersey who were the main power behind the PASPA getting repealed. Today, Delaware sports betting is available both live and online, with state’s three racinos offering services along with the state Lottery.

Historically speaking, Delaware was always one of the most open states in terms of sports betting as it had some form of betting legalized even before PASPA was repealed. In May 2018 when Delaware betting was fully legalized allowing all forms of sports betting, the state’s three racinos became the main providers of betting services. The state had already made online poker and casinos legal with its House Bill 333 which was signed into law back in 2012.

The three main providers of live betting services in the state are the Delaware Park Racetrack, Dover Downs Gaming and Harrington Raceaway. These three operators provide regular sports betting with all types of betting markets and many different sports offered on a daily basis.

The Delaware Lottery also provides sports betting, but only football parlays are on offer in the 100 betting parlors that the lottery has across the state. These multi game parlays were available even before 2018 and they continue to be available now.

At this time, there are no plans for any additional sportsbook in Delaware being open in the near future and given the relatively small population that the state has (just over 1 million), there is hardly a need for additional establishments to be set up either.

Unlike many other states that have legalized sports betting to this date, Delaware did not move forward with online gambling sites immediately. While in theory online betting is now fully legal and all three live betting operators are allowed to provide online betting, these services are not yet available to people in Delaware.

The Delaware racinos have announced that they would be launching both online betting sites and mobile betting apps in the near future so it is only a matter of time before players can finally place online bets in Delaware as well.

The exact date for the Delaware sports betting online launch is not yet clear and no official announcement of this has been made. What is clear however is that the number of licenses issued will be limited and will be controlled by the Delaware State Lottery, who will also likely allow online multi game parlay bets to be made for the NFL season.

While various international bookies have been working in conjunction with local casinos to offer sports betting in other states, it appears that Delaware will keep things completely local and will have racinos launch their own betting apps without any external influence. This way, more business will be staying inside the state, benefiting the citizens of Delaware in a bigger way.

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As we already briefly mentioned, online sports betting in the state of Delaware is now in the launching phase and it remains to be seen how soon the first betting apps launch for mobile betting as well. We expect to see the first Delaware sports betting app launched in the coming months, before the end of 2020, but there has not yet been a clear announcement on the launch date.

What is known is that each of the three live betting providers will also offer mobile betting via unique betting apps and that they will each likely focus on different sports, thus not overlapping in business too much. Mobile apps will be available to all adult players within the state of Delaware and will provide a range of betting markets, similar to those in other states that have already launched mobile betting.

Delaware is not a major sports state and currently does not have any big sports teams in major leagues to speak of. The entire population of the state is under 1 million people, which is one of the reasons there are so few teams to speak of. Nevertheless, Delaware was one of the first states to allow sports betting and people from bordering states were happy enough to come in and place a parlay bet every now and then.

Now that regular sports betting is allowed as well, both Delaware citizens and those from Philadelphia, New York and Washington, all of whom are homes to huge sports teams, will be coming to Delaware to place their wagers and try to capitalize on their favorite team’s successes.

The NFL is easily the most popular competition in Delaware, but unfortunately the state does not host any teams who compete in the tournament. Teams like Delaware Destroyers (basketball), Delaware Wings (soccer) and Wilmington Blue Rocks (baseball) are among the longest standing ones in the state, with major success still eluding them along with major investments that would help them get there.  That said, these teams do not lack in supporters and we are sure to be seeing plenty of supportive wagers at the local legal bookies throughout the state.

Ever since 2009, Delaware has allowed some sports betting, with multi game football parlays available through the State Lottery since that year. While this was certainly a very limited form of sports betting, it made Delaware one of the rare states in which bettors could legally enjoy their hobby.

Today, with the full legalization of sports betting in the state, players can actually place bets on any market of their choice. Both professional and college sports are legal to bet on and the racinos have already set up a colorful range of betting options for their customers, to go hand in hand with their casino games and other gaming options.

Players who don’t want to go to the racinos can still make accumulator bets on the NFL games through the 100 betting shops that the Lottery has scattered across the state, but no other betting options are available in the Lottery outposts.

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The state of Delaware is the second smallest state in the USA but was the first to enter the Federal Union back in the day. In regard to sports gambling, Delaware has had an interesting history, with both proponents and opponents of gambling being fairly active within it. Delaware never became a major gambling hub for the country, but it is one of the few states that legally allow nearly all forms of gambling, both offline and online.

Initially, gambling was limited to just horse race betting, as the first racing facility was established all the way back in 1760 in Newark. This facility did not allow gambling, but private wagers were being placed often and the races flourished because people used to gamble with each other without any intermediary.

The Delaware Racing Commission was formed in 1933 during the Great Depression, as state government became aware that they needed any and all income for the treasury and limited gambling was a great source of taxes. This was the first legal body for the regulation of gambling in Delaware.

Over the years, the state established three horse racing tracks and each of them subsequently turned into a casino as well. These racinos remain the top providers of gambling services in Delaware today and the vast majority of all bets is made through them. In 2009, the State Lottery also started providing limited sports betting, with parlay betting for NFL matches becoming available at their facilities. Sports betting in racinos became available in 2018, immediately upon the repealing of the PASPA, which was the one major obstacle to it being fully legal within Delaware.