Table Games Move to Forefront of Delaware Gambling Expansion

With single game sports betting ruled out, Delaware officials are frantically searching for new gambling that may fill the revenue hole in the state budget.

Delaware lawmakers, still in a state of shock after an unexpected court ruling shot down a proposed sports betting program slated to fill a revenue hole in the budget, are turning their attention to table games. But implementing the table gaming may take quite a bit more time than the single-bet sports gambling that had been planned.

"We believe if we get table games operating quickly, it will more than offset any losses from sports betting,” Dover Downs CEO Ed Sutor told the Cape Gazette optimistically. “Now is the perfect opportunity to accelerate table games."

Delaware commissioned a study of table gaming in March, to be completed by the end of November. If the report is favorable, lawmakers may allow blackjack and other popular games within six months of receiving the study.

But establishing state regulations and training dealers and other workers to handle the new games may delay the state as much as a year.

“The issue of table games is not when the Legislature votes, it’s more about when the regulations are in place and security issues are handled," said Joe Rogalsky, communications director for Governor Jack Markell.

So, as Delaware legislators consider adding the table games or even expanding to more casino licenses, sports betting may open with parlay betting, but has become almost an afterthought on the Delaware gambling horizon.