Delaware Sports Gambling Bill Does Not Succeed

May 27, 2009 - Written by Glen

Tuesday night was the culmination of a prolonged effort by Governor Jack Markell in his effort to legalize sports gambling in Delaware. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain. Even though he pushed as hard as he could, Governor Markell still came up short.

It had seemed that the Bill had raked in enough support to go through the state Legislature, but this was not the case. The Bill had pulled in 23 of the 25 required votes, getting shot down in the House of Representatives. Opposition came from all around, with lobbyists from many different groups.

The opposition came trifold, from different institutions with different interests in keeping the Bill from passing. The major opponents to the Bill was the racetrack casinos within the state. They were afraid that any other gambling option in the state would ultimately lead to their downfall. The NFL and the NCAA were also butting heads with legislators. Sport institutions feel that if sports betting were legal, fixing games might become a reality.

The Bill held sportsbetting as a possibility through Parlay bets. The Parlays, working similar to a lottery, require a bettor to make one wager on multiple events. If any one event does not go in your favor, all bets would be a failure.