Delaware Sports Betting

John Carney, governor of the state of Delaware, marked the legalization of sports betting in Delaware in a low-key way a couple of weeks back on June 5th. He decided to bet on the outcome of the baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs. He picked the Phillies to win… and he won his bet. Great for him, and probably a good promotion for the abolition of the Federal law that prohibited such gambling in Delaware and many other states since 1992. Mr Carney’s bet was the first legal bet of its kind in the state.

Delaware is one of the first states to bring in sports betting following the law change. Before this, many states had seen underground and illegal gambling on professional sporting events. Delaware is expected to be the first of many states to allow such gambling to take place.

While the legalization of such gambling came into being in Delaware without too much fanfare, it has undoubtedly made things easier for many who wanted to start placing bets on such events. Some reports have reminded lucky players winning more than $5k on sports betting will have 24% of their winnings retained by the casino for tax purposes. However, since many will win less than this, taxes are probably the last thing they are thinking of given this change in the law. Delaware’s three casinos look set to reap the rewards from this law change.