House Bill 365, sponsored by Reps. Cooke and Bush, would bring Delaware betting options other states have
DOVER – Today, Lawmakers filed new legislation that would provide Delawareans with more options for competitive mobile sports wagering.
House Bill 365, sponsored by Rep. Frank Cooke and Rep. William Bush, would add Delaware to a growing number of states, including neighboring Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, that have expanded mobile sports betting markets. Sports betting has been legal in Delaware since 2018, the new legislation is an expansion of existing law.
“It’s important that Delaware remains competitive and responsive to the preferences of its residents,” said Rep. William Bush.
“By providing Delawareans with a larger mobile sports wagering market, similar to those thriving in neighboring states, we can level the playing field and bring in a new source of revenue for our state.”
In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a 1992 law that barred state-authorized sports gambling, effectively opening the door for states to legalize and regulate sports betting.
The introduction of HB 365 follows the work of the Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group, a bipartisan group tasked with evaluating and making recommendations on authorizing an internet sports lottery in Delaware.
“We know this is an industry that is continuing to grow,” said Rep. Franklin Cooke. “Having looked closely at other implementation models and studying data from other states, I’m confident we’re more than ready to get this bill through the legislature and onto the Governor’s desk.”
“Regardless of whether we’re talking about consumer products or sportsbooks, the consumer benefits from healthy competition in the marketplace,” said Sen. Spiros Mantzavinos, the Senate prime sponsor of HB 365 and chair of the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee. “By creating a regulatory structure that allows our casinos to partner with multiple sportsbooks, we can better ensure legal gaming sites are providing consumers with the best value.”
According to Cooke, licensed internet sports lottery operators are required to pay a $500,000 fee for an initial 5-year license to offer Internet sports lottery games in Delaware, and operators must return proceeds from their operations at a rate of 18% of the operator’s monthly adjusted gross sports lottery receipts. Licensed operators will also contribute 1.5% of their monthly adjusted gross sports lottery receipts to purses for allocation under the direction of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission or the Delaware Harness Racing Commission, as applicable.
“The addition of online sports betting in the First State means additional revenue will benefit programs for the treatment, education and assistance of compulsive gamblers and problem gambling,” Rep. Cooke added. “We’re talking about $400,000 or 3.5% of the processed returned to the state for funding these programs. Those dollars will go a long way.”
Licensing fees collected from operators will be allocated to the General Fund. Proceeds returned to the State by Internet sports lottery are allocated first to the Lottery Office’s costs and administrative expenses.
The bill has been assigned to the House Administration Committee for consideration.
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