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Despite the flurry of legalized sports betting markets, iGaming has not followed suit. Many states have physical casinos, but very few allow those games to be played online from anywhere and everywhere.
Matter of fact, only seven states have online casino betting legal. The short list includes Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. We have two pieces of news out of Delaware and what’s ironic is how both encapsulate the debate over iGaming that’s going on nationally. Allow us to explain.
Delaware iGaming Growing At An Impressive Pace
As mentioned, betting in Delaware very much includes iGaming. However, it’s not a completely open market. Only the three brick-and-mortar casinos in the state — Bally’s Dover, Delaware Park, and Harrington — are allowed to offer it online. Of course, they have in-person games but also an online extension.
The online games are serviced in conjunction with Rush Street Interactive (RSI). They took over from 888, who previously had an exclusive agreement with the state’s governing body. The change happened over a year ago and it’s safe to say it was a good business move.
This is because iGaming revenues have surged in Delaware all year long. The latest reported number was $6.2 million. That’s how much iGaming contributed in the month of November. Year over year, that’s a massive 465 percent uptick in revenues. Yes, we’re serious, an almost 5X improvement from the year before. November’s iGaming toll was the second-biggest in state history. It was behind only the month before when it did $6.7 million for October.
For reference, RSI officially took over from 888 in December 2023, soft launching that month. However, the true launch was in January 2024. Online casino revenues went from $1.2 million to $3.4 million from December 2023 to January 2024 — and have been higher every month since. Again, all credit to RSI here.
Anyways, let’s frame this success nationally. Because there’s a host of other states that see something like this and think, “gee, if Delaware can have this type of success so can we and even bigger.” That line of thinking makes sense considering Delaware’s population is a measly 1 million. A state like Ohio with almost 12 million residents (many of which are contributing big to Ohio’s sports betting market) could easily think of dollar signs.
But there’s one potential tradeoff: the rise of addiction. The other news out of Delaware speaks to this concern as we’ll get into next.
Delaware Adds Another Office For Problem Gambling
The Delaware Council on Gambling Problems (DCGP) is THE in-state organization that treats problem gamblers. It’s been around since 1979 — long before phones could connect bettors to games in a second.
Welp, just like the industry is growing, so is DCGP. They are opening a third office — a Kent County location that’s housed on the second floor at 14 Village Square in Smyrn. This goes along with their locations in Wilmington and Georgetown. Delaware is the second-smallest state in land size so it’s quite easy to get to all three.
The new site in Smyrna is par for the course for DCGP. Like the other properties, it will provide office and meeting spaces for counselors, staff, and volunteers who are all working together to advance the council’s mission. What’s that, you ask? Straight from its website: raise public awareness that problem gambling disorders are treatable and to facilitate the development of a network of services for problem gamblers and their families.
The new office is directly attributed to the increased betting activity going in the state, not just from iGaming, but sports betting too, which has boomed since the RSI takeover. “With the recent law that now allows mobile online sports betting in Delaware, we continue to see a surge in internet gambling—and the growing number of lives being impacted by problem gambling,” said Arlene Simon, DCGP executive director.
Online casinos have been a tougher sell to legalize than sports betting. When Missouri legalized sports betting, that brought the number of states with a market up to 39, or almost six times more than iGaming (7). However, there are national lawmakers trying to change that as well explain in the next section.
NCLGS Creates Framework For iGaming Legalization
This has been in the works since July. That’s when The National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) began developing a template for iGaming legislation. The hope is that states across the country could adopt it, plus add their own tweaks, and get more legalization going.
Welp, the template is complete. It includes calling for lawmakers to keep tax rates between 15 to 25 percent of gross gaming revenue. It also advocates to ban sweepstakes betting, which has surged in popularity as of late. It did address problem gambling, the chief concern of most states. To curb it, the proposal said credit cards should not be allowed as a payment method.
What NLGS submitted is only a draft. They’re accepting feedback until the year ends and will adjust accordingly. It’s an important story to monitor in the coming years, that’s for sure.
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