For Delawareans eager to try the online casino platforms powered by Rush Street Interactive (RSI), your wait is over. For those eager to see legal real money Delaware online poker return, your wait is just beginning.
Such are the competing storylines as RSI officially takes over as the Delaware Lottery’s exclusive igaming provider. Along with change to the online casino platform, it means the launch of mobile sports betting in Delaware for the first time.
But it also means the close of online poker, at least for the time being. It is unknown when RSI plans to launch its Run it Once Poker platform in Delaware and other states. While we wait, there will be a blackout for safe, legal online poker in the state.
The stakeholders involved in the transition were not available for immediate comment, but a chat support representative for one of the racinos told pokerfuse that they we’re “not currently offering poker,” and that It “may be available in the future, but we don’t have a timeframe at the moment.”
Transition to RSI Completed Successfully
As of Wednesday, the gaming sites for the racinos were all displaying new branding, reflecting the switch from 888 to RSI was official:
- Bally Casino powered by BetRivers
- BetRivers at Delaware Park Casino
- BetRivers at Harrington Raceway & Casino
A brief statement on the DE Lottery website calls on plaers to “play online slots, table games and online sports from the NEW platforms powered by BetRivers.”
For the last ten years, regulated online poker has been available on all three sites through a platform powered by 888. These skins were connected to the WSOP USA online poker network, so Delawareans could enjoy access to the biggest US online poker network around, offing tournaments and cash games around the clock.
As of December 27, the online poker rooms have gone offline, with all cash games and tournaments removed from the lobby. A message explains that the servers are unavailable.
The transition from 888 to RSI in Delaware will go down in history as the first time that players in the US gained, then lost, access to regulated, real money online poker.
Poker Blackout Was Expected — But Avoidable
It did not have to be this way. A section of the request for proposals (RFP) issued by the Lottery for its igaming contract could have required 888 to stay on as the provider of online poker in Delaware — until RIO was ready.
But the Lottery confirmed to Poker Industry PRO in an exclusive earlier this month that it wouldn’t be asking 888 to stick around — rather, there would be an indefinite blackout period for online poker in Delaware.
RSI said it plans to launch the Run It Once (RIO) poker platform in Delaware, but a launch date has not been announced. RSI bought the platform in March 2022 and it remains in development.
Since RIO wasn’t ready to go when RSI took over as the Lottery’s exclusive igaming provider, an indefinite blackout period has begun for online poker in Delaware.
Two Promos to Celebrate Switchover
The gaming sites for all three racinos were offering two promos tied to the switchover from 888 on Wednesday.
On the casino side, the “Casino Welcome Offer” was a promotion where players, after making an initial deposit and using a bonus code (CASINOBACK), could get back 100% of their net losses, with some limits — up to $250, on qualified games, and during their first 24 hours of play.
Mobile sports betting, a new product in Delaware, kicked off with an initial deposit promotion of its own. Under the “Sports Welcome Offer” at all three racinos, first-time players with qualifying first wager losses are eligible to receive a bonus bet equal to their stake, up to $100.
Other than the two promos and the obvious rebranding — all branding at the top of the domains were unchanged, but each site’s link to “online gaming” brought players to Bally Casino, Bally Sportsbook, BetRivers Casino, and BetRivers Sportsbook — there was no official statement from RSI or the Lottery about the switchover.
