Parlay Sports Betting Plan Still On for Delaware
Delaware's sports betting program may have been crippled before birth by a US appellate court's decision this week, but officials are still implementing a parlay program allowed by the court ruling. Single-game betting was disallowed by the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals as a violation of federal law, but Delaware's parlay gaming is protected by a grandfathering clause.The exact format the state will use will depend on the written opinion of the court, says Delaware Governor Jack Markell. Still be to decided, depending on the judicial panel's wording, is whether Delaware can use sports other than the NFL, or how limited the parlay system is to be.
"We will know more in the next few days after the state has had time to review the Circuit Court's written opinion, which has not been released yet," said a spokesman for the governor.
Parlay betting is considered a far less popular form of sports gambling than straight single-game bets. The state had planned on not only collecting millions from sports betting, but to use the games to draw participants to its three casinos and generate millions more in slot revenue.
Casinos in Delaware have already spent millions preparing for the sports gambling rush that may never come.
"What they stopped was head-to-head, single-game bets, and maybe betting on other sports," Dover Downs CEO Ed Sutor told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We do not know if we're allowed to do the same for the other pro sports and college games."
