I hadn’t heard of this, but the sports betting proposal in Delaware took a step forward early this week. Things have not moved ahead as originally planned, but they have moved ahead.
This bill came after public hearings and private debate. The new proposal limits the sports betting to just the three racinos already in operation in the state instead of those sites and another dozen or so locations around the state. This was done to please the owners of the three existing facilities.
They will pay a price for that, however, as the bill also increases the take of gambling money which goes to the state. So the committee apparently told them that if they wanted to keep their stranglehold on gambling, they’d have to do it with a smaller take. I’m sure there will be more wrangling over this.
On one hand, I like the idea of keeping sports betting our of bars and other places without slots. I have always been a big critic of Maryland allowing Keno – one of the most addictive games – in bars, but not allowing slots at racetracks. This follows that same line of thinking for me. Plus, why let some drunk goofball at a bar in Dewey Beach bet the over on the Yankees-Orioles game, but not let some reasonable, sober person play poker? The substitute bill does create a study on table games, I read, so that’s good news too.
The bad side is that closing the door on other locations might hurt a racino which is proposed for near the beach areas. I like that plan because it would give me an option when I hit the beach in the summer. I also feel bad that someone looking at a larger commitment to gambling gets caught in the shuffle here.
The bill is in front of the state house now, and i couuld not find a timeline on its future. I also could not find out whether the bill proposed single bets or only parlay bets, which had been discussed in the past. All I know is that the opportunity to bet on football within a few hours of my house cleared the first hurdle, and that’s a good thing.