Delaware’s legal sports betting market got a swift boot up the backside in September thanks to the kickoff of the new National Football League season.
This week, the Delaware Lottery (which oversees gambling in the state) reported that September’s total sports betting handle hit $16.8m, a significant improvement over the $7.7m the state’s three licensed racinos-turned-sportsbook-operators – Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway – reported in August.
Delaware Park claimed the largest slice ($11.6m) of September’s betting handle, leaving Dover Downs and Harrington with relative crumbs ($3.2m and $2m, respectively). The state’s ‘net proceeds’ from betting – which counts still-pending wagers as revenue – totaled $3.15m, up from just $707k in August.
The betting handle total doesn’t include the Lottery’s parlay sports betting product, which was in operation for years prior to the state launching single-game wagering in June. The parlay product reported handle of $6.4m in September, from which the state netted a return of around $2.2m.
This weekend will see the launch of a temporary retail sports betting station at the Dover International Speedway, coinciding with Saturday’s Sea Watch International NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff and Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff.
Customers will find the station located adjacent to the Delaware Lottery display near the Monster Monument at Victory Plaza. The betting station — in reality, a decent-sized tent behind the grandstand — will be open from 9am-3pm on Saturday, and from 8am-7pm on Sunday.
Delaware Lottery director Vernon Kirk told Delaware Online that NASCAR betting has so far been a non-factor in the state’s wagering operations — attracting a mere $60k in wagers since June’s wagering launch — but he expects “a pretty big bump” once NASCAR fans realize they can bet on the Speedway grounds. That said, bettors won’t be limited to wagering only on NASCAR via the station.
