DOVER, Del.- The U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Monday to strike down a federal ban on sports betting may end up expanding Delaware's offerings on sports wagers but it also challenges the state's East Coast monopoly on sports betting.
The court ruled against the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Delaware has been able to offer parlay bets on NFL games under a grandfathered status and was among four states, including Montana, Nevada, and Oregon that were legally allowed to offer any type of sports betting.
But Delaware Gov. John Carney on Monday said the state is now seeing if it can offer full sports betting.
"Specifically, we will be looking at whether the opinion allows Delaware to offer full-scale sports gaming beyond parlay betting on National Football League games that was reinstituted in 2009. We believe that Delaware likely already has all necessary laws and regulations in place to implement full-scale sports gaming under the direction of the Delaware Lottery," he said.
Depending on how the court's ruling is interpreted, Carney said Delaware's three casinos could begin offering full sports betting by the end of June.
Ed Sutor with Dover Downs Hotel & Casino said he doesn't expect to see a major revenue influx from expanded sports betting, even if the sports book is allowed to offer single-game wagers and take action on collegiate or other professional sports.
"In Nevada, only 2 percent of the revenues come from sports betting and it should be the same about here," he said.
Delaware expects to receive about $9 million overall this year from the parlay betting offered at casinos and some stores.
Mike Patel, owner of Mike's Food Mart in Dover, said he's concerned about the Supreme Court's ruling because he believes it could cost him customers who may go to other states that legalized sports betting in anticipation of Monday's ruling.
"Especially on a Sunday," he said. "We get a lot of business. We're going to lose that revenue with the state."
