Delaware legalises sports betting

Delaware has become the first state to legalise sports betting in the US after last month’s Supreme Court ruling on the matter.

The Supreme Court voted to repeal the federal 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which had blocked states from regulating sports wagering, with the exception of Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana.

New Jersey had led the bid to overturn PASPA, but Delaware has pulled ahead in the race to legalise such activities after Governor John Carney confirmed sports betting will begin in the state on June 5.

Consumers in Delaware, which is also only one of three states to offer legalised online gaming activities, will be able to place sports wagers at three locations.

Delaware Park, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino and Harrington Raceway & Casino will offer sports betting services.

“Delaware has all necessary legal and regulatory authority to move forward with a full-scale sports gaming operation, and we look forward to next week’s launch,” Carney said in a news release.

“We’re hopeful that this will bring even more visitors into Delaware to see first-hand what our state has to offer.”

Confirmation of the launch comes after Carney last month said that he expected Delaware to begin taking sports bets in June.

The USA Today newspaper reports that the Delaware Lottery has also published an online betting tutorial for SportsPick, the state’s sports gaming product.

Delaware, which had been offering parlay NFL wagering via partial exemption under PASPA, is yet to confirm whether it will allow betting on college sports events.

State lottery regulations currently ban any bets being taken on Delaware’s two Division I colleges – Delaware State and the University of Delaware.

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