Delaware Remains on Track for September Online Gambling Launch

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Thursday, April 25th, 2013 | Written by Shane Larson

One of Delaware’s leading commercial casino companies confirmed yesterday that the state remains on track to launch regulated online gambling by September of 2013.

The confirmation came from Dover Downs CEO Denis McGlyn in a statement covering the company’s performance for the 1st quarter of 2013.

“We are pleased,” McGlyn said, “to see that the State remains on its timetable and we expect to begin our first online offerings on or about the end of September.”

A number of companies have applied for online gambling licenses in Delaware, including PokerStars.

It’s not completely clear what “offerings” will be available at launch. While casino games and some sports-related products are expected to be part of the launch menu, poker may be a different story. Delaware has a pretty small population, one most would consider incapable of supporting even one online poker room, let alone an entire market.

What is clear: Delaware casinos are counting on revenue from online gambling to offset staggering losses at land-based operations over the last few years. Dover Downs, for example, reported a 22% year-over-year drop in revenue that the company ascribed to “increased competition” from neighboring states.

Those states include Pennsylvania, which has seen tremendous growth in their casino sector since opening up the state for land-based casinos in the 2000s. Some of that growth has come from new players, but analysts believe the lion’s share has come at the expense of existing casinos in states like Delaware and New Jersey.

That competition between states appears to now be extending into the online arena. As Delaware prepares to launch online gambling, Pennsylvania is once again nipping at their heels, introducing an online gambling bill of their own last week.

Where does this news put Delaware relative to other states at advanced stages of online gambling regulation? To date, that is a pretty short list comprised of New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.

New Jersey is moving on an accelerated timetable for launching online gambling, but a firm date has yet to be mentioned by state officials. Speaking off the record, gambling regulators in New Jersey have indicated that some version of online gambling could be live in the state by fall of 2013. New Jersey already offers limited online better via advanced deposit wagering on horse races, so the state may not have as big of a hill to climb as some other states hoping to introduce regulated online gambling.

The remaining state on the list – Nevada – has been something of a puzzle on the issue of regulated online gambling. The state decided to authorize online one game – poker – and has seen nearly two years pass since legislation allowing online gambling became law. While various theories for the delay abound, all of them are set to become moot sooner than later, as Nevada is expected to launch real-money online poker in the US by this summer. In the meantime, US online poker players have a number of options for play in the status quo.

Many observers expect Delaware to seek compacts with other states offering online gambling as a way of supplementing the state’s meager population for games such as poker or progressive jackpot games. But despite this apparent need for partners, we have seen few reports suggesting the Delaware is actively engaged in talks with other states.