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Delaware legislature passes sports betting bill
May 14, 2009
The state senate passed a bill Tuesday to legalize a sports betting lottery.
This will make Delaware the only state east of the Mississippi to offer sports
betting and the third state, after Nevada and Montana, to allow a form of sports
betting.
Sports betting is granted by exceptions in the 1992 Professional and Amateur
Sports Protection Act (PASPA) to these three states plus Oregon, which ended its
sports lottery in 2006.
Gov. Markell hopes the state Supreme Court will rule on the bills legality in
time for it to take effect by the start of the NFL season in the fall.
The bill allows single-game betting.
If sports betting is successful in Delaware, it could spread quickly to other
states.
“A state will usually start out with very strict regulations,” said professor
Mark W. Nichols of University of Nevada-Reno. “Then a nearby state sees its
residents traveling to that neighboring state to gamble and that serves as a
justification to legalize gambling in that other state.”
March 12, 2009
Gov. Markell wants to legalize sports betting
DOVER - As reported by ESPN the Magazine: "During his campaign for Delaware
Governor last fall Jack Markell often hinted that, if elected, he'd support
sports betting in his state. Now that he's got the job, Markell is done hinting.
"ESPN The Magazine has learned that sometime next week, according to a
statehouse source, Markell will introduce a proposal which, for the first time
in more than 30 years, makes gambling on sports legal east of the Mississippi
River. The plan, which could be approved by the state legislature as early as
April, would likely be operational come fall, just in time for the NFL season.
"Markell's proposal calls for a statewide sports lottery that only allows parlay
bets. In a parlay, gamblers have to get two bets right in order to win. It's an
idea that has been brewing in Delaware for a while, long before the economy
imploded and the state found itself with a budget shortfall of $700M. In fact, a
proposal to allow gambling on sports died in the state legislature last year,
when then governor Ruth Ann Minner made it clear she'd veto a resulting bill.
"The newly elected Markell, who has spent the past several weeks listening to
proponents of gambling as well its opponents, is much more of a pragmatist than
a betting revolutionary. He hasn't been to Vegas in nearly 15 years and almost
never hits the race track/casinos (called racinos) in his home state. But the
way he sees it is this: Delaware already allows horse racing and slots. And with
the state currently $700M in the hole, offering the Pats minus-six over the Jets
when bettors come by to drop a nickel in the slots isn't amoral. As he told me a
couple months ago, 'you can't really be half-pregnant.' “
December 12, 2008
Dover Downs Hotel & Casino wins Best of the East Award
DOVER - Dover Downs Hotel & Casino has been awarded the 2008 Best of the East
Award by the readers of Meetings East magazine. More than 22,000 qualified
planning professionals voted in the award process.
"We are thrilled to have again been selected by professional meeting planners as
the premier meeting destination in Delaware’s capital city,” said George Fiorile,
VP and GM. “In September 2007, we opened 268 new hotel rooms and suites to reach
a total of 500 rooms, making us the largest hotel in the state of Delaware. Our
meeting and convention space increased by 10,000 square feet, and we opened a
beautiful, full-service day spa, Toppers Spa/Salon at Dover Downs Hotel &
Casino. These improvements – along with the completion of The Colonnade casino
expansion this year with three more restaurants, a casino lounge and shops –
have solidified Dover Downs Hotel & Casino as the region’s top convention and
entertainment destination.”
Meetings East awards recognize the best hotels, conference centers, spas,
retreats, and resorts throughout the eastern region of North America. It
includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington,
D.C., and Eastern Canada.
October 15, 2007
Will Sports Betting Come to Delaware?
The VLAC will submit a report November 5th recommending the legalization of a
sports lottery. A bill authorizing a sports lottery was approved by a State
House committee last June, but a vote by the House has been delayed pending a
study by the budget finance director and controller general due December 21st.
Although Governor Minner is opposed to it, the House Majority Leader believes
there is enough support to bring it to a vote in the next few months.
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Delaware
