Delaware Expands Sports Betting to Include Mobile Sports Betting Apps

Delaware has officially upgraded and updated a legal sports betting platform that has existed since 2018, paving the way for future access to our best sports betting apps.

On Wednesday, December 27th, with virtually no advanced notice or fanfare, Delaware welcomed its first-ever mobile sports betting and iGaming operator. 

Rush Street Interactive (RSI) and its BetRivers brand, thanks to an exclusive contract with the Delaware Lottery, became the first Delaware sports betting app last week after six months of trying to go live with their mobile sportsbook.

BetRivers' mobile launch in the Delaware sports wagering market may have opened up the door for other Delaware sports betting sites to go live. The Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group released a report early in December outlining the benefits of such a platform extension for their state.

BetRivers takes Delaware

Rush Street Interactive's mobile BetRivers Sportsbook is now live in Delaware. It seemed only a matter of time after the wagering company became the official vendor for online gaming of the Delaware State Lottery in August. 

It took six months from signing the August contract to the official launch of their sports betting brand in the state. The mobile launch was quiet, with almost no hoopla that is almost always seen when a sportsbook launches in a U.S. jurisdiction.

BetRivers will operate as the only online sports betting option for Delaware bettors for the time being at least. The contract is said to be a five-year agreement with the Delaware Lottery, with an option to renew after the five years.

BetRivers is a prominent name in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., with operations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The company now has a sports betting presence in 14 U.S. states.

A little history of Delaware's sports betting industry

Delaware was the first new state in America to welcome a legal sports betting platform in 2018 following the Supreme Court's decision to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). 

In June 2018, Delaware launched a retail-only sports wagering platform. It took until last week to move forward with more lucrative and convenient Delaware sports betting sites for citizens to take advantage of.

While being the first to welcome retail sports wagering, Delaware checked in as the 29th state to bring in online sports betting sites.

In the time between 2018 and now, Delaware regulators and residents of the state have seen not only enormous wagering activity but also healthy tax contributions from the online sports betting industries in neighboring states, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

What an expanded legal sports betting platform means for Delaware

The Delaware House Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group in their work produced recommendations and expectations for an expanded legal sports betting platform for the state. Some would result in direct competition to their own Lottery and, ultimately, the agreement signed between it and Rush Street Interactive.

First, and perhaps most importantly, is the financial impact of an expanded legal sports betting platform, complete with multiple mobile providers. 

According to renowned gaming research company Eilers & Krejcik, which was consulted during the process, $30.7 million in tax revenue could be generated over the next five years for needy Delaware state and local coffers. As much as $9 million annually after that could result.

Other recommendations from the Working Group that would help upgrade the platform in Delaware include a state online sports lottery, the protection of the state's horse racing industry (which could ultimately tether to a hopeful legal mobile sports betting provider), and additional resources for problem gambling in the state.

“It is quite clear that the absence of online sports wagering is detrimental to our revenue in Delaware when our surrounding states have online sports wagering. During our meetings, it was demonstrated that there have been many attempts to place online bets in Delaware. This is lost revenue for our state. It is also clear from our surrounding states that the use of multiple online operators creates a greater volume of wagering and online usage. It is our recommendation that online operators need to be tethered to our existing video lottery agents,” the group wrote in its final recommendations.