A new bill was filed last week in Delaware which has the potential to change the state’s online betting landscape. State Senator Brian Bushweller’s SB 183 seeks to not only allow licensed online operators to offer parlay sports betting, but also tax online revenue at the same rate that bricks-and-mortar casino table games are taxed.
Sports betting is not a new option of Delaware-based gamblers. In fact, it is offered alongside casino games, poker and lottery options in the state. Sports bets, however, are parlay bets, meaning that gamblers need to choose the winner of at least three different games. This is in contrast to the options offered by Nevada, where gamblers can wager on the outcome of a single game.
Bushweller’s bill will allow the state’s three licensed operators, namely Dover Downs, Harrington Raceway and Delaware Park, to offer online parlay sports bets to their existing options.
Other changes that SB 183 proposes to make relate to the taxing of Delaware’s gambling industry.
When online gambling was legalized and regulated in Delaware several years ago, it was predicted that the state would make about $5 million in annual revenue, and that $3.75 million of that amount would be fed back into state coffers. Unfortunately, the reality on the ground is that the total online revenue was $1.8 million in 2015.
As such, the bill seeks to do away with the $3.75 million provision and instead tax online revenue at the same rate that the state’s terrestrial casino table games are. In addition, the senator also seeks to reduce the tax rate from 29% to 20%, with an aim to drop those rates even further by 2018 to just 15%.
Bushweiler has justified his proposal to opponents by saying that a lower tax rate may give state licensed casino owners enough incentive to increase their table game operations. For the moment, none of the three licensed operators have seen a dime from their online operations.
Nobody foresees a change in Delaware’s sports betting options from parlay betting to a system such as Nevada’s – at least for now.
It is hoped that SB 183 will manage to bring Delaware in line with other states in the region who continue to grow and develop their industries, especially with so many new casinos mushrooming in neighboring states.
The next step for the bill is to come before the Senate Finance Committee.
