Delaware Gambling Plan Makes Every Bar a Casino

Legislative hypocrisy is once again revealed, as the opening of a few casinos meets with mighty resistance, but turning sports bars into de facto state gambling venues is considered.

Delaware Governor Jack Markell's proposal to revive the state sports gambling program would allow gambling plays to be made from local sports bars, taverns, and convenience stores. Legislative hypocrisy is once again revealed, as the opening of a few casinos meets with mighty resistance, but turning sports bars into de facto state gambling venues is considered.

Markell's plan demonstrates how government permits itself behavior worse than it denies its own citizens, say political watchdogs. While private gambling and competitive situations find the legislative path a rough one, state operations with far worse circumstances for gambling patrons are easily accepted.

"Sports gambling is, of course, already a major factor in the popularity of sports bars. But using the bars as state outlets for gambling sales would make them into mini-casinos," says problem gambling expert Charles Ibanez.

While politicians sweat whether to license one or two casinos in a whole state, they seem to find no difficulty in allowing gambling sales on every street corner, as long as the state is taking the action. And state betting not only proliferates far faster than casino gambling, but invariably returns worse odds, says Ibanez.

"The Delaware proposal would force sports players to bet parlays. While the payout on those two-team bets is higher, the odds are even more stacked against gamblers."

Ibanex points out that state lotteries return far less to a winning bet than do the mob "numbers" rackets. The advocate for problem gambling treatment thinks that states and governments are the biggest causes of spreading compulsive gambling, as their games "have all the validity of three-card monte."