According to DelawareOnline.com, there is a strong likelihood that the state could be among the first to cash in on potential changes to federal sports betting laws.  The site ran an article entitled Delaware Could Win Race to Offer Sports Betting where it reported that Delaware’s administration is putting together a plan to offer wagering on all professional and out-of-state college sports, on condition that the Supreme Court votes in favor of overturning the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).

At present, Delaware is the only state “east of the Rocky Mountains” that  is legally able to offer a sports book. The article points out that Delaware’s offerings are currently limited to parlays on pro football. Lawmakers, however, believe that this will all change if and when the Supreme Court rules in New Jersey’s favor in an attempt to prove that PASPA is unconstitutional.

“If we can get to market faster than some of our neighbors there could be some real upside,” the state finance director Rick Geisenberger is quoted as saying. “We’re working to roll it out as quickly as possible.”

$150 million is spent on so-called illegal bets each year in the United States, and many states want a piece of that action. When PASPA was passed in 1992, four states – Delaware among them – were grandfathered out thanks to existing sports betting laws. New Jersey has fought for over a decade to be allowed to introduce a legal and regulated sports betting industry but has, until now, been met with closed doors.  The Supreme Court hearing, which started earlier this month, is the Garden State’s last chance to change the current status quo.

But while New Jersey is doing all the fighting, Delaware may actually be able to reap the rewards quicker, especially if lawmakers are able to put together a comprehensive sports betting bill fast enough.

According to Vernon Kirk, the director of the Delaware Lottery: “The thought is that a favorable ruling would mean anything that’s offered in Las Vegas could be offered here in Delaware or any other state. Whether we would do that remains undecided, but we are considering what that might look like if we did.”