Aside from New Jersey, other states are gearing up to cash in on legalized sports betting, assuming the U.S. Supreme Court decides to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Professional Act of 1992 (PASPA).
Delaware is preparing to roll out its professional and out-of-state college sports betting offerings should the high court decide in favor of New Jersey’s petition, Delaware Online reported.
State Finance Director Rick Geisenberger said Delaware may be able to introduce single-game betting on professional sports within weeks after the Supreme Court issued its ruling, which could come as early as June.
At the moment, Delaware’s offerings are limited to parlays or multi-game betting on football.
“If we can get to market faster than some of our neighbors there could be some real upside,” Geisenberger said, according to the news outlet. “We’re working to roll it out as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, state lottery director Vernon Kirk said the tentative plan of the Delaware Gov. John Carney’s administration is to initially confine betting on NFL, NBA, NHL, major league baseball and out-of-state college sports teams to the state’s three casinos.
Unlike New Jersey, Delaware doesn’t need legislative action to begin offering sports betting since the state is one of the four states exempted from the 1992 nationwide ban on sports gambling.
Kirk, however, said they will let their lawyers have a second look at the law even though they believe that the state “doesn’t need to return to the [General Assembly to institute full scale sports betting].”
If the Carney administration’s plan pushes through, sports betting will provide a much needed financial boost to the struggling Delaware Park, Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, and Harrington Raceway, according to the report.
New Jersey wants to allow sports gambling at its casinos and race tracks, and to collect taxes from it. At least 10 other states say they’re ready to allow sports betting if New Jersey wins.
The push for legal sports betting in the United States received a boost during an early December hearing after a majority of the Supreme Court justices appeared to agree with New Jersey that PASPA violates the U.S. Constitution’s protection of state’s rights.
