Don't believe the negative hype: Week one of NFL betting successful in Delaware

21 September, 2009

The United States’ first test market for legal sports betting outside Las Vegas received mixed reviews in week one of the NFL season, proving once again that it’s all in the media spin.

Federal courts recently ruled to allow a limited number of betting options (only parlay bets on NFL football are permitted) at three state-run horsetracks (the cheesily rechristened “racinos”) in Delaware, with proceeds and profits overseen by the state’s finance department.

While the official press release emphatically stated that “First State officials are optimistic after getting the numbers from the first week of sports betting in Delaware since the mid-1970s,” the Philadelphia Daily News – and thus many news outlets thereafter – headlined the results as “sketchy,” though the article noted that a Las Vegas source called “the handle [...] better than many had projected.”

Indeed, Delaware acting secretary of finance Tom Cook explained that the 14,500 wagers placed for a handle of over $250,000 essentially made up for the dropoff in gambling income that Maryland had consistently experienced throughout 2009. Cook’s figures indicate that many states running some combination of lottery, horseracing and state-owned slot games have shown a 6% drop over 2008 figures; the NFL parlay betting in week one, however, brought Maryland’s income in the category back up to just -0.3% off last year’s results for the week.

Stated Delaware Park “racino” COO Bill Fasy: “Delaware’s Sports Lottery brought new customers to Delaware Park and significantly increased our traffic over the weekend. As more people learn about this product the greater the potential is for this segment of our business to grow.”

Best of luck to Delaware’s bold experiment from Silver Bets Casino!