Delaware lived up to its, “First State,” slogan last week when it became the first American state to offer a full suite of regulated online gambling to its citizens. It’s a major step for the American-facing industry and the first shot in what is expected to be a long battle for East Coast igaming supremacy.
As of this writing, three Delaware online casinos are open for business and all of them are tied to land-based casinos and racetracks.
The three sites, Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway, offer a range of casino games including poker, blackjack, slots and roulette.
All of these sites are run on software provided by 888 Holdings and are operated under the authority of the Delaware State lottery. Although some forms of sports betting are legal in the state, that market hasn’t been part of the state’s regulated igaming discussion.
Until New Jersey’s regulated igaming launch later this month, Delaware is the only US State to offer anything more than online poker in its regulated offerings.
The big challenge for Delaware operators is going to be finding enough players to keep their sites active until some sort of interstate gambling compact is arranged. Delaware has fewer than one million residents, which limits how much revenue the new sites will be able to raise.