Delaware’s iGaming Soars, Sports Betting Struggles

Delaware recently released July’s financial results for the state’s iGaming and sports betting industry. All forms of gambling in the First State go through the official Delaware Lottery, which releases detailed monthly reports for casinos and racetracks. Online gambling continued to grow with revenues narrowly beating last month’s, but sportsbooks recorded a substantial year-to-year drop in activity.

iGaming in Delaware is currently available via three licensed casinos- Delaware Park, Bally’s Dover, and Harrington. Monthly online gambling revenue across all three operators reached $1.25 million, marking a significant 58.1% year-to-year increase. The results are also comfortably above June 2022’s $1.12 million and even narrowly surpassed April’s $1.22 million high.

Delaware Park continues to be the market leader, accounting for 43.3% of the state’s monthly iGaming revenue at $542,950. Bally’s Dover came second at $377,753, closely followed by Harrington’s $332,904. The number of registrations also follows the trend, with 496 for Delaware Park, 421 for Bally’s Dover, and 257 for Harrington’s.

Delaware players spent the most on online video lottery, contributing just over $1.0 million to July’s revenue. Table games came at a distant second with $165,378, while online poker brought in $43,944.
Sports betting revenue in the First State underperformed, dropping 27.5% compared to the same period last year. July 2022’s reported $383,249 still significantly outperformed the previous month, growing 80.12% from $212,768.

Delaware Park again outperformed the competition and was responsible for $203,322 of the month’s sports betting revenue. Mirroring the iGaming results, Bally’s Dover ranked second with profits of $93,683, and Harrington took third place with $86,725.

July seems like a weak month for Delaware’s sportsbooks, defying the trend set by other states. New Hampshire, Michigan, Tennessee, and Indiana saw a drop in revenue compared to the previous month but a solid year-to-year increase. This trend is the inverse of Delaware’s financial results.

Judging by July’s financial report, Delaware’s gambling industry appears to be in good shape and contributes significantly to the state’s bottom line. While iGaming continued to thrive, sports betting results were unusual in the broader context. The summer months usually experience a cooldown in betting activity due to the slow seasonal sportsbook calendar. However, Delaware saw an increase compared to June, while year-to-year revenue dropped.

The trend-defying sportsbook results in Delaware could be due to the state’s comparatively limited approach to sports betting. The First State at least beats Mississippi, which reported some of the worst sportsbook growth metrics for July. The Magnolia State’s sports betting handle went down 40.4% compared to 2021 and 27.1% compared to last month.

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