Delaware’s Sports Betting Proposal Denied

Based on a recent US Supreme Court decision, Delaware’s proposal to legalize other forms of sports betting lottery has been turned down. This is part of Delaware’s plans to expand its sports betting industry. The US Supreme Court has ruled against Delaware’s appeal, a result that is unfortunate but not unexpected according to Jack Markell, the governor of Delaware.

Court appeal details

The regional gambling industry, along with Delaware governor Jack Markell, filed an appeal to the higher court for a federal appeals court decision that limited the state to parlay sports betting on the National Football League. It was the state’s plan to expand the betting industry to include single-game bets on collegiate and professional sports.

During the earlier case, the federal court decided that the state of Delaware can only have a legalized sports lottery that’s similar to the betting system on NFL games that was previously offered by Delaware in the 1970s. As one of the four states that had some sort of systematized sports betting system before the ban was implemented, Delaware is exempted from the 1992 sports betting ban.

Possible complications of the US Supreme Court’s decision

One possible consequence of the US Supreme Court’s ruling against Delaware’s proposal on sports betting is a negative effect on another state’s appeal to legalize sports betting. New Jersey has also filed a case against the US government, stating that the federal ban on sports betting is unconstitutional, and that it infringes the individual states’ constitutional rights. The New Jersey politicians that filed the case want 11 casinos in Atlantic City to have a competitive position by offering its customers a legalized form of sports betting.

So far, there is no official comment from The Casino Association of New Jersey regarding the US Supreme Court’s ruling on Delaware’s appeal. However, State Senator Ray Lesniak, one of the politicians behind New Jersey’s lawsuit against the federal ban, is optimistic. Lesniak has stated “I’m glad they lost. I’m glad, because their challenge was based on an interpretation of the law. We are challenging it because we believe it’s unconstitutional.”

New Jersey has offered assistance to Delaware regarding the fight against the federal ban on sports betting. According to Lesniak, they wrote a letter to Delaware, asking them to state that the current law on sports betting is unconstitutional, since this can help both New Jersey and Delaware. However, Delaware rejected New Jersey’s offer.