Uncertainties Abound on Delaware Sports Betting Draw

Delaware sports betting proponents are so absorbed over the NFL lawsuit that no one has addressed the real difficulty, drawing customers away from illegal bookmaking that offers credit and convenience advantages over the state program.

While still fending off legal challenges from the NFL and its sports league cohorts, Delaware is hoping the September start to its sports betting program is a smash success. But gaming industry observers are wondering exactly how popular the new lottery games will turn out to be.

Unlike the lottery, sports betting will not take place at every corner outlet. Players must make the trip to one of the state's three race tracks to place bets on football and other sports.

"I'm really hoping it's going to be a home run, really bring a lot of excitement to the property, bring in people to play slots," Delaware Park GM Andrew Gentile told the Philadelphia Daily News. "There's a lot of different estimates."

What makes predicting the program's success so difficult is the existence of illegal sports gambling in every neighborhood in the US. Bettors are able to call local bookies and get a bet down on a game, without advancing the cash or leaving their houses.

Brandywine Bookmaking will supply the lines for Delaware sports betting, and owner Joe Asher thinks that customers won't mind putting cash up front, and that the tracks are convenient enough.

"There are 30 million people within a 3-hour drive," Asher said.

Still, the state might defeat all the court challenges and legal wrangling, only to discover that people won't abandon the ease of the illegal system to patronize a legal operation that is more difficult to use.