Dover Downs reported $1.1M in sports bets for the month ending June 24getty images
The Delaware Lottery reported more than $7M in sports bets "taken across the state's three casinos for the month ending June 24," even though the state "didn't start taking bets" until June 5, according to Jeff Neiburg of the Wilmington NEWS JOURNAL. Delaware Park "was busiest," selling $5.2M in sports tickets. Dover Downs reported $1.1M in bets and Harrington Raceway "took in $590,000." The state -- after paying vendor fees -- took in $875,216, a number Delaware Lottery Dir Vernon Kirk "said was higher than he anticipated." During the '17 NFL season, a "five-week period ending Oct. 29 saw Delaware reel in" more than $1.6M in net proceeds on $4.4M in "bets on parlay cards." Football season is "expected to be much busier at the casinos than in years prior, and a 19-day period in June, with baseball and the World Cup taking up most of the action, is a good indicator of things to come." The state's casinos netted $4.8M in sports bets in FY '18 through Super Bowl LII, "not counting the parlay cards sold at retailers across the state" (Wilmington NEWS JOURNAL, 7/6). Kirk said of Delaware's betting success so far, "I'm cautiously optimistic, but check back with me when football season starts. No matter how you look at it, we have a good first few weeks, but I'd be surprised if it stayed that strong." He added, "We didn't quite expect the number of customers who were interested in the NBA Finals games. It caught us a little off guard. Too many customers, that's a good problem to have, though" (ESPN.com, 7/5).
GETTING PREPARED: A K.C. STAR editorial states legislators in Kansas and Missouri are "taking a hard look this summer at how their states might offer sports gambling." The discussions in both states are "encouraging and necessary." Legalized sports gambling "could provide the states with millions of dollars for needed programs or tax relief for lower-income workers." Legislators "should spend the summer recess studying the issues involved." The states "should regulate sports gambling, but they should not provide it." Additionally, neither state "should offer sports gambling directly." State administrators "lack expertise in sports wagering, and the state shouldn't be in that business anyway." Let private companies "take the bets." Sports gambling facilities also "should be limited," but limiting gaming to existing casinos will "make it harder for some bettors to gamble, reducing state revenue." However, one answer "might be online wagering" (K.C. STAR, 7/6).
