Delaware State Park Casino Sports Betting
Delaware Sports Betting – Delaware Park Around the clock sports betting on all your favorite sports games You would be hard pressed to find more luxurious surroundings to carry out your Delaware sports betting activities than at the wonderful Delaware park resort which can be found on Delaware Park Boulevard.
by Doug McCoy
Single-game sports wagering at Delaware Park is already having a positive impact on the track’s finances and on the purse account, and horsemen and racetrack executives welcome the new addition.
But some analysts wonder what the long-term impacts might be, and closer to home, some horseplayers at the track fret about their place in the pecking order.
- Delaware and the state are working on plans that would allow the casinos to reopen for sports betting, slots and table games as early as June 1, with only a 30% occupancy limit.
- Delaware Park Casino. You can bet on a number of sports at Delaware Park Casino. Sports betting has technically been offered here since 2009 when wagers on NFL games were permitted in the form of Parlay cards. We expect that online sports betting will be introduced through the Delaware Park online casino.
Many in horse racing have come to regard slot machines as, at best, a mixed blessing – bolstering purses even while, nationwide, wagering handle has declined precipitously and in 2017 was lower than it had been 20 years earlier, in 1996, according to the Jockey Club. Some, however, harbor higher hopes that sports wagering might even help racing by attracting a new customer who might more readily cross over to the racing side.
Single-game sports wagering arrived earlier this year via a mid-May Supreme Court ruling that overturned an existing federal prohibition on sports betting that, in essence, applied to every state but Nevada. That case had been brought by the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and by the state of New Jersey, which, predictably, were then among the earliest adopters of sports betting.
In Delaware, also among the first to the party, bettors can get in on the action at the state’s lone Thoroughbred track, Delaware Park, and two standardbred facilities, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway.
From the advent of single-game wagering in Delaware June 5 through the end of October, bettors wagered more than $38 million on sports at Delaware Park, with net proceeds of over $3.9 million, according to the Delaware Lottery. Under Delaware’s regulatory scheme, the state takes half of the net proceeds, while the track (40.4 percent) and Thoroughbred purses (9.6 percent) split the rest. (The numbers are slightly different for standardbreds).
“The overall impact of sports betting has been positive,” Delaware Park, which has earned nearly $1.6 million in commissions from sports betting, stated in an email to The Racing Biz. “New customers are being introduced to the property and all Delaware Park has to offer. Over time, we expect that some of these new visitors will enjoy the other gaming and non-gaming offerings at the property.”
Sports betting has also meant close to $400,000 additional for purses to date.
“This should go a long way toward getting our overpayment figures down (overpayments occur when the track pays more in purses through a pre-agreed daily purse outlay than income can cover), and we’re hopeful we can get that figure close to zero by the end of the year,” Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association executive director Bessie Gruwell said. “Of course, we will continue to receive our share of sports betting revenue throughout the year even after the live meeting concludes so we’re expecting to have a healthy surplus when we begin the new meeting next season.”
Gruwell said that she is hopeful that the added purse funds could yield additional racing days at the Stanton oval.
Gruwell pointed out, though, that the sports betting market is already crowded – and soon enough will grow moreso. While New Jersey and West Virginia already are up and running, Pennsylvania is moving in that direction; Hollywood Casino at Penn National ran sports betting tests late last week. And the Maryland legislature, typically slow out of the gate, may well, in its 2019 session, send to the voters a constitutional amendment permitting sports betting. If so, voters would make their decision in 2020, likely leading to sports wagering in Maryland in 2021.
“I think we’ll still be getting a lot of business from the I-95 corridor area through Baltimore to D.C. for at least two years, as it’s projected it will take that long for sports betting to be legalized in Maryland,” Gruwell said. “Just as was the case when slots and casino gaming came to the area, we had a good piece of the pie at first, and then that shrunk as neighboring states came online and also offered the same types of gambling. But any additional revenue for the horsemen is good revenue.”
Moreover, sports wagering does not seem, in the first instance, to have harmed horse betting in any substantial way. In fact, overall Delaware Park saw handle on its live product grow by 17 percent during the just-completed meet – even though field size at the track dipped nearly seven percent.
That fall in field size stemmed primarily from a long, wet summer and early fall, which drove numerous races off the turf, often yielding small and unbettable fields. The number of turf races fell by over 18 percent from 2017. The rains also almost certainly drove down on-track attendance, although those numbers are not kept.
“The live race meet was severely impacted by weather this year, especially in the summer which was the beginning of our venture into single game sports wagering,” the track reported.
During the July-September period – the first three full months of sports wagering with live racing ongoing – on-track handle on the live product did fall, according to figures provided by Delaware Park. But it, again, suffered from weather issues. Though overall on-track handle on the live product was off 18 percent versus 2017, the number of starters likewise fell by 14.5 percent.
On a per-betting interest basis, the decline during the July-September period was just 4.4 percent.
All of which suggests that the weather, and the concomitant loss of turf races, had more to do with on-track handle than did the advent of sports wagering.
Tracks, like Delaware, seeking to add sports betting face a couple of challenges. One of those is to accommodate the larger crowds generated by sports wagering without alienating their existing horseplayer base. A second is to find ways to encourage sports bettors to cross over to horse racing.
“Delaware Park has integrated sports betting windows on all three floors of the clubhouse. A new mutuel line was built on the first floor, and racing is the very large majority of what is displayed on these televisions,” Delaware Park explained via email. “Part of the mutuel line on the second floor was converted to live sports teller windows to help accommodate the crowds, especially during the football season. Horse racing and sporting events share the television coverage. The third floor is mainly sports betting with live tellers and self-service betting terminals.”
Several horseplayers, however, suggested that reaching a happy medium remains a work in progress. Three of those – Jim Darden, Karl “Reds” Kalinevitch, and Steve Richards – all said that they and their handicapping friends had been forced to move from preferred locations multiple times as areas were repurposed to handle sports betting or the crowds drawn by the new offering made spaces uncomfortably crowded.
Darden, a 64-year-old realtor and lifetime horseplayer, complained that he is reaching wit’s end.
“Saturday was the one day of the week I could go to the track, enjoy horse racing with my friends and have a pleasant day out,” Darden said, “Now if I want to get a seat where I can see the TVs. I’ve got to get to the track at 10:00 a.m. or more than two hours before the first race runs at most tracks.”
Kalinevitch, a 49-year-old contractor, said that he and his ‘capping cronies “have had to move four different times, trying to find a spot where we can sit, watch races and bet.”
And Richards, a 63-year-old insurance executive, serious horseplayer, and sometime horse owner, said that his group ended up in the first-floor DelCap room but were dismayed to find that the bar there closed with two races still to go on its namesake Delaware Handicap day.
“I understand it’s a business and most of the money is made on the casino side, but it can’t be that hard to find a way to address the needs of a loyal group that has supported the track for many years,” Richards said.
Delaware Park said it is “constantly evaluating” customer feedback and business patterns to provide customers a positive experience.
The advent of sports wagering has clearly increased the number of people at the facility. The parking lot is much more crowded now than it had been previously, and inside large and lively throngs gather to watch and wager on a wide array of sports.
Whether those newcomers will turn their attention to the ponies remains to be seen. Delaware Park is hoping that familiarity will aid that cause. Horse racing is often cheek-by-jowl with the other events – by design, the track said.
“Delaware Park has not designated any one area as just racing or sports betting,” the track said via email. “The plan is to keep racing and sports in the same areas in the hope for some cross-over play for both racing and sports.”
Delaware is probably not the first state that comes to mind when you think of sports or sports betting. There are no professional sports teams located in the state, and Delaware does not have a strong collegiate sports program either.
All of this might be true, but Delaware was actually the first state to accept a wager after the lifting of PASPA. The state has seen minimal growth since that time, but residents can still legally bet on sports.
At this time, all betting is limited to retail options at the three casinos in the state, and mobile or online betting is not legal.
The History behind Legal Sports Betting in Delaware
Sports betting in the state of Delaware can be traced back to before the Revolutionary War, but at that time, horse racing was the only sport available to bet on. Delaware does not have the biggest sports betting market in the United States, but it does have one of the oldest.
The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission was formed in 1933 to clean up the horse racing industry and the bettors associated with the races. In 1937, Delaware Park was opened, and it became the first location to offer legal sports betting in the state.
Harrington Raceway opened in 1946, and Dover Downs officially opened in 1969, giving the state three retail sports betting locations. At this time, betting on horse racing remained the only option for sports bettors.
The state made many attempts to expand on sports betting, but nothing was made official until 2009. Lawmakers were able to pass a bill that allowed retail locations to offer parlay betting options on NFL games.
In 2012, Delaware took the next step by legalizing online casino gaming and online poker. Delaware was one of the first states in the country to take this next step, and it provided a huge revenue boost to the state.
When the United States Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports betting in 2018, Delaware made the move to legalize single-game sports betting. Delaware was the first state to offer sports betting after the PASPA was overturned.
Governor John Carney made the first official single-game sports bet on June 5, 2018, at Delaware Park. To this day, all three of the racinos in the state remain the only retail locations that offer single-game sports betting.
There has been some minimal attempt from lawmakers to expand sports betting to include mobile or online wagering, but a law has yet to be passed.
Financial History behind Legal Sports Betting in Delaware
Delaware’s sports betting industry has yet to develop a real trend when looking at the numbers, as the figures continue to jump up and down. The industry got off to a solid start in 2018, and it does appear that things are starting to head in the right direction again in 2020.
September 2018 marked the biggest month for the state in terms of sports betting revenue, as the Delaware Lottery brought in more than $3.1 million in winnings. December 2018 brought in $2.2 million in revenue from the industry, which was the second-biggest month.
Along with revenue, the total sports betting handle has bounced around quite a bit as well. The months where football is being played has provided a boom to the industry, but there have been some slow months without football.
Sports betting handle and sports betting revenue in September 2020 were both up from the totals reported in August 2020. The sports betting handle was $7.27 million in September, and sports betting revenue was just under $2 million.
The September 2020 numbers were actually down from the September 2019 numbers, and the lack of college football games played a role in those numbers. The entire sports betting industry in Delaware was shut down from April-June 2020 as the casinos were closed due to the pandemic.
Sportsbook Apps in Delaware
Delaware might have been one of the first states to launch sports betting following the repeal of PASPA, but the state has yet to legalize mobile or online sports betting. There hasn’t been an attempt by state lawmakers to launch mobile sports betting, but that could always come at some point in the near future.
Other states have shown that mobile sports betting is the best way to bring in money, and it’s likely that Delaware will realize the same thing at some point. Even though sports betting is somewhat limited in the state, don’t be surprised if Delaware legalizes mobile sportsbook apps at some point soon.
It’s hard to predict exactly how many licenses will be available to online sports betting operators, but there will likely be a handful. Here are some of the biggest names in the sports betting industry that will likely attempt to launch in Delaware if that becomes an option:
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- BetMGM
- BetRivers
- William Hill
- PointsBet
Landlocked Locations to Bet on Sports in Delaware
When lawmakers in Delaware were looking to launch sports betting, it was decided that the three commercial casinos would be the only properties available to apply for a sports betting license. This was one way to boost traffic and revenue for each of the three properties in the state.
Typically, retail casinos would be required to partner with a sports betting operator to offer sports betting at that site. That is not the case in Delaware as the Delaware Lottery made that decision for them.
William Hill was selected as the sports betting operator that would provide each of the three commercial casinos with sports betting services. Sportsbooks have been built at each property, and there are also kiosks available.
Here are the three locations that currently offer sports betting in Delaware:
Delaware Park Casino is located in Wilmington, Delaware. Sports betting is available from 11 am-11 pm Monday through Saturday, and from 10 am-11 pm on Sunday.
Dover Downs is a racetrack located in Dover, Delaware, and this location specializes in parlay cards. Sports betting is available from 12-8 pm Monday through Friday, and from 10 am-8 pm on the weekends.
The third and final location that offers sports betting in Delaware is the Harrington Raceway and Casino in Harrington. This sportsbook at Harrington Raceway has different hours throughout the week.
There are almost 100 other retail sports betting locations throughout Delaware, but these locations can only offer parlay cards for NFL and college football.
At this time, there are no plans to expand retail sports betting in the state of Delaware, and there are no other retail sports betting licenses available.
Sports Teams to Bet on in Delaware
Delaware is not known for its sports, and there are no professional sports teams located within the state. This would seem to create a problem for the sports betting industry, but Delaware is located near other states with a large number of professional teams.
The three major cities located near Delaware are Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. All three are major sports markets, and that is where most of the bets come from for sportsbooks in Delaware.
New Castle County is located in the northern part of Delaware, and that county has a large majority of the state’s population. Philadelphia is less than 50 miles away from New Castle County, and a majority of residents tend to follow the professional teams from that city.
The Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia 76ers are two of the most popular teams to bet on in Delaware. The Philadelphia Phillies of MLB and the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League drive sports betting as well.
Other sports bettors in Delaware prefer to bet on other professional sports teams in Washington DC or Baltimore. Football is king in the sports betting industry, and betting on NFL teams always brings in the most bets.
The Washington Football Team (formerly Washington Redskins) is another popular team with residents of Delaware. The Washington Nationals (MLB) and the Washington Wizards (NBA) also bring in some bets.
In Baltimore, Maryland, the Ravens of the National Football League are extremely popular as well. The Ravens have been successful over the past decade, allowing the team to attract new fans from Delaware.
Betting on collegiate sporting events is also legal in Delaware, although the state doesn’t have any popular college teams. College football and college basketball are the two best options for Delaware residents looking to bet on NCAA activities.
FAQ for betting in Delaware
Where can I Bet on Sports in Delaware?
All sports betting in the state of Delaware must be done at the commercial casinos in the state. These locations are:
Delaware State Park Casino Sports Betting Results
- Delaware Park Casino
- Dover Downs
- Harrington Raceway and Casino
How old do I have to be to place a bet?
The legal age to place a bet on sports in Delaware is 21 years of age. This is standard for most of the states that have legalized sports betting.
Can I make a bet online or with my phone?
As of October 2020, the answer is no. Delaware has not yet made online or mobile sports betting legal, and there are no online sports betting apps.
Is the DFS industry legal in Delaware?
No, Daily Fantasy Sports operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel are not able to offer DFS services in the state of Delaware. A large number of states have legalized and regulated this industry, but Delaware maintains that this is an illegal gambling activity.
Do I have to be a resident of the state to place a bet?
No. But you do have to be physically at one of the three casinos in the state to place a bet. Visitors of the state can stop by one of the three locations that offer sports betting to create an account and begin placing bets.
Can I bet on baseball in Delaware?
Yes. Baseball is one of the sports that can be offered by sportsbooks in the state. Sportsbooks have plenty of freedom when it comes to what sports or leagues they can offer bets on, with William Hill supplying the odds. Betting on collegiate teams that are located in the state of Delaware is not allowed.
Who regulates the sports betting industry in Delaware?
Delaware State Park Casino Sports Betting Site
The Delaware Lottery regulates the sports betting industry in Delaware, but state lawmakers set the rules and regulations for the industry. The Delaware Lottery has reached an agreement with William Hill to supply sports betting services to the three casinos in the state.