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Delaware Ponders Sports Gambling

"Industry officials say legalized wagers on amateur, college and professional sports could not only attract new gamblers to Delaware, but also help its three slot-machine casinos retain customers, most of whom come from out of state.

"But supporters of a state-run sports lottery face an uphill battle, despite the projected loss of millions of dollars of slot machine revenue to the state's general fund because of Delaware's new indoor smoking ban.

"Not only are the profit margins in sports wagering considerably less than in other forms of gambling, but many people, including Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, are philosophically opposed to expanding Delaware's gambling offerings, whether through sports betting or, as state Rep. Joseph Miro has proposed, floating casinos on the Delaware River.

"…The National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball also oppose legalized sports betting in Delaware, saying it would harm the image of professional sports.

"…Delaware's flirtation with sports gambling dates to 1976, when it began a football lottery called Scoreboard, despite a lawsuit by the NFL to try to stop it. The experiment died after officials canceled betting just before the final regular-season games, fearing that professional gamblers were taking advantage of point spreads more favorable than those in Las Vegas and making wagers the state couldn't cover.

"…While the 1976 sports lottery ended in disaster, it did qualify Delaware as one of four states, along with Nevada, Oregon and Montana, to be grandfathered out of a 1992 federal prohibition against sports betting.

"…According to a 1999 report by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, between $80 billion and $380 billion is illegally wagered on sports events each year. By comparison, legal sports betting in Nevada drew $2.3 billion in wagering in fiscal 1998…"

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