- Delaware lawmakers have recommended multiple operators for sports betting, which may extend to online poker and casino gaming.
- The state could become a larger online poker and casino gaming market with more operators.
- The Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group has endorsed recommendations that might change the state’s gaming law.
- The Delaware Lottery awarded its exclusive igaming contract to Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive (RSI), which plans to launch its Run It Once poker platform in early 2024.
- The lawmakers suggested that each of the three racinos be allowed to partner with two operators for six sportsbooks, potentially leading to six online poker rooms in Delaware.
- BetMGM Poker, PokerStars, and WSOP may join or rejoin the Delaware market if poker is expanded to six operators.
When the Delaware Lottery issued a request for proposal (RFP) for its exclusive igaming contract last January, it envisioned having a single operator provide online poker, casino games, and (for the first time) mobile sports betting in Delaware.
But today, those plans could be upended. A panel of lawmakers recently recommended to their colleagues in the Delaware General Assembly that the state would be better served by having multiple sportsbook operators rather than just one.
Currently, having more than one operator appears limited to just sports betting. But lawmakers could just as easily decide that there should be more than one online casino or online poker room in Delaware.
If they do either, Delaware could become a much larger state for online poker and casino gaming. DE has ranked among the smallest markets both partly because of its small population and because the state adopted a model where the state lottery controls gaming. That leaves customers with few options for legal igaming, which can actually lead to more players using illegal offshore sites that offer fewer responsible gaming protections.
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New Recommendations Made
The uncertainty follows a November 29 Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group meeting. That day, all three panel members endorsed recommendations that could radically change the state’s gaming law.
Specifically, Reps. William Bush (D-Cheswold), Franklin Cooke (D-Wilmington), and Michael Smith (R-Pike Creek) supported recommending that:
- There be “multiple” operators for sports betting in Delaware
- Operators should be required to partner with (or be “tethered” to) one of the state’s three racinos
- Additional money should be spent on responsible gaming efforts
The first recommendation puts the Lottery in an awkward spot, considering it awarded its exclusive igaming contract to Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive (RSI) over the summer. RSI plans to launch its Run It Once poker platform, currently in development, sometime in early 2024.
But even awarding the contract to RSI didn’t go as the Lottery had planned — it had wanted to hear presentations from interested companies in March, then enter into negotiations shortly after that, with the idea of having operations begin no later than November 1.
That didn’t happen. Instead, the Lottery only got two bids — from 888 and RSI — and wound up awarding the contract by default to RSI after 888 withdrew its bid in May.
The lawmakers recommended that there be “multiple” sports betting operators. Still, it might not be a large number — Bush said earlier discussions had suggested that each of the three racinos be allowed to partner with two operators for a grand total of six sportsbooks.
If a similar change is recommended and adopted in online poker, there could be as many as six online poker rooms in Delaware.
The Lottery may also have to renegotiate its contract with RSI.
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More Operators Would Come If Invited
To be clear, there isn’t anything to suggest that the recommendation being put forth by the Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group pertains to anything other than sports betting.
But if poker were expanded to six operators, look for BetMGM Poker and PokerStars to join the Delaware market for the first time and for WSOP to try to get back into it.
BetMGM Poker would likely want to merge its player pools in Michigan and New Jersey before launching a new online poker room in Delaware. It would then have a three-state network under the provisions of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), a multi-state online poker compact.
PokerStars US has already combined its player pools in Michigan and New Jersey, so look for the operator to create its three-state network under MSIGA by launching in Delaware.
WSOP partnered with 888 in Delaware when the UK-based gaming giant had the Lottery’s exclusive igaming contract. That access appeared lost when RSI took over, but perhaps WSOP can partner with one of the racinos and resume offering online poker there, albeit through a branded skin of one of the three racinos. WSOP’s shared player pool is across three MSIGA states — Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey.
West Virginia is the fifth and final member of MSIGA.