Delaware approves online poker, casino gaming

by Frank Angst
July 2,2012


Horse racing will soon have more competition from legal forms of Internet gambling in the United States, although that initial competition will be in the form of intrastate wagering.

On June 28, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signed a bill that will allow intrastate online gambling on games like poker, roulette, and blackjack. The Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012 clears the way for players in Delaware to wager online.

Backers said the bill, which will set up a system where Delaware’s land-based casinos will launch web sites that will be controlled centrally by the state’s lottery office, will position the state well as it competes with Pennsylvania and Maryland for gambling handle, reports the Wilmington, Delaware News-Journal.

“We’re talking about a couple thousand jobs,” Markell told the News-Journal. “The competitive landscape for this industry has dramatically changed.”

The state hopes to launch online gambling next year.

Horse racing has federal protection that allows it to conduct interstate wagering through licensed Internet platforms. The federal government has been considering legislation for several years that could allow other forms of interstate wagering. Several others states, including California, Illinois, Iowa, and New Jersey are considering intrastate wagering.

Frank Angst is Senior Writer for Thoroughbred Times