There is nothing fancy about the state of Delaware.

If Kansas and Iowa are flyover country, Delaware is drive-by territory. Few great athletes have come from Delaware. it’s No. 1 export is tax-friendly corporation laws and you can drive from the top of the state (Wilmington) to the bottom (Shelbyville) in two hours - 90 minutes if you want to push it. With few reasons to stop, most do push it.

But early this month the lawmakers in Delaware shook up the state and the betting world by approving sports wagering. Ripple effects are being felt in neighboring states, the National Football League, the NCAA and at off-shore betting sites.

Details will be ironed out over the next few months, but the state is almost certain that by fall bettors will be able to wager – in some form – on pro and college sports.

Better still, the third leg of the three-legged casino stool – table games – should be in place by early next year. So Delaware gamblers (and expected visitors) will be able to choose from slots, table games and sports betting. And don’t forget the horse racing that is already a staple in the state.

There are some details to nail down, but the timeline is pretty tight.

Gov. Jack Markell, who spearheaded the sports wagering drive to help the state close a budget deficit, has asked the state Supreme Court for an advisory opinion on what type of betting is allowed. (Because Delaware had sports betting through its lottery in the 1970s, it was one of the few states exempted from the 1992 federal law outlawing sports wagering. And because of complicated factors involving the lottery, it was thought that bettors would have to win a two-team parlay to cash under the new law. That, however, may not be true, and the Supreme Court will give its opinion on whether single-game wagers should be allowed.

In a few weeks the state will seek bids from companies seeking to administer the program, including setting the odds.

The key questions for serious bettors – will single-game wagering be offered and how much juice will be taken – are yet to be answered.

Joe Rogalsky, a spokeman for Markell, says everything is on a fast track as the state wants sports wagering up and running by the start of the NFL season in early September.

“It’s an aggressive timeline,” says Rogalsky, “considering that so much has to be done. The assembly needs to allocate money to get this rolling, and there is the regulatory aspect to consider. We hope to have the Supreme Court opinion within a few months, then the Assembly would have to come back in special session around early August.”

Rogalsky said that whichever company is hired to handle the wagering would have input into determining the payoffs. He estimates that the state’s yearly take would be in vicinity of $52 million to $55 million, which if accurate would eradicate about 25 percent of Delaware’s current budget deficit.

The NFL, whose foundation of support is reinforced by wagering, is publicly saying that it will file a lawsuit to prevent the law’s implementation, but no one in Delaware is taking that too seriously.

“We’ve asked the NFL to be part of the process right from the beginning,” says Rogalsky. “The governor is clear that he wants to work with the commissioner to ensure the tightest regulations.”

Wagering on college games would be allowed, except those involving Delaware teams. But not a lot of cash is bet on the Delaware Blue Hens, who play in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) but every now and make some noise about elevating to D1.

Calls to the NFL and NCAA were not immediately returned.

Nationally, the impact of Delaware becoming the first Eastern state to offer sports wagering should be negligible. But along the mid-Atlantic, tremors are being felt. The news produced pronounced shudders in Maryland, which also faces economic problems and whose slot program is just getting off the ground. Maryland is crippled by a regulation that requires any new form of gambling to be approved by voters.

In Atlantic City, where the casino industry is dealing with a 14.2 percent drop in April 2009 revenue compared to the same month in 2008 and hundreds of workers have been laid off, the news must have hit with a thud. The last thing AC, already under severe pressure from Pennsylvania slot parlors, needs is for three casinos a few hours away that offer something that the Boardwalk doesn’t.

“We were hit with a double whammy,” says Jeff Vasser, president of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority. “People naturally wanted to visit the new slot parlors in Pennsylvania and try them out, and then the economy tanked. We took a big hit. Now Delaware.

“Would we like sports betting in Atlantic City? Of course. New Jersey had the chance to be grandfathered in years ago, and we didn’t do it. It would certainly help.

“In the short term,” adds Vasser, “we expect to take a hit. But in the long term we’ll be fine, especially as the economy improves. We will keep working on things we can improve on – entertainment, retail, dining. And we also have the beach.”

But Delaware isn’t too concerned about Maryland or Atlantic City, and is willing to fend off legal challenges from the NFL and NCAA. After nearly two decades of setbacks in Congress, the country’s second-smallest state will soon have three sites (Wilmington, Dover and Harrington) where bettors can wager on sports. For the betting community, that’s progress.

Sean Higgs
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