An amendment to the state’s lottery law, House Bill 365, would expand the mobile sports betting market in Delaware from one operator to several. If the bill is passed, it is expected to provide competition to the online sports betting industry and boost revenue.
More Is Better
A bipartisan House committee named the Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group has crafted legislation that would bring more mobile sports betting players to the table. As it stands, only Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers, which last year replaced 888 Holdings as the state’s iGaming provider, is the only mobile sports betting provider in the state.
But that would change if House Bill 365 were to pass. The bill allows the three video lottery providers, Delaware Park, Bally’s Dover and Harrington Raceway & Casino, to each select up to two skins (mobile sportsbooks) to enter the mobile sports betting market.
What’s the Bill About?
Representatives Franklin Cooke and William Bush are co-sponsors of the bill and the intent is to bring more interest, and thus more revenue, to the state through nationally branded digital sportsbooks.
“It’s important that Delaware remains competitive and responsive to the preferences of its residents,” Representative Bush said. “By providing Delawareans with a larger mobile sports wagering market, similar to those thriving in neighboring states, we can level the playing field and bring in a new source of revenue for our state.”
Senator Spiros Mantzavinos, chair of the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee, said, “Regardless of whether we’re talking about consumer products or sportsbooks, the consumer benefits from healthy competition in the marketplace. By creating a regulatory structure that allows our casinos to partner with multiple sportsbooks, we can better ensure legal gaming sites are providing consumers with the best value.”
The bill calls for an 18% tax on the sportsbooks’ adjusted gross revenue with all but 3.5% of the proceeds earmarked for the State Lottery Fund, while the remaining 3.5% or $400,000, whichever is greater, will help fund the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health’s problem gambling programs.
If You Build It, Will They Come?
There is some apprehension as to whether the market is big enough to attract bigger mobile sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, etc. When the state decided to put the iGaming contract out to bid in January 2023, as 888 Holdings’ five-year deal was ending, only the incumbent and Rush Street Interactive bid on the opportunity.
Rush Street was ultimately chosen to replace 888 Holdings and is now the state’s only iGaming and sports betting provider through its BetRivers brand, having launched the latter in December 2023.
In a fiercely competitive industry, it was concerning that only two parties submitted bids which has some speculating that if they didn’t respond to the more lucrative iGaming proposition, why would they be interested in mobile sports betting?
Representative Cooke voiced his concern by saying, “It should be a concern of yours also saying ‘how come they didn’t bid?’ That’s like having a racetrack and none of the horses want to come in, but you have a racetrack. Something has to be wrong, or right, or something.”
