Delaware's egaming bill passed by state House
HB 333 would permit casino and lottery games through the Delaware Lottery.
A bill which would authorise online gambling in Delaware including casino games and sports lottery has been passed by the state’s House of Representatives.
HB 333, known as the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012, permits the sale of instant-win lottery games, and tickets for the Powerball and Mega Millions draws, while casino games such as slots and blackjack would also be permitted. All games would be under the control and operation of the Delaware Lottery.
It would also allow the Delaware Lottery to operate the sports lottery at venues other than the video lottery agents, such as bars or convenience stores.
The passage through the House follows The House Gaming and Parimutuels Committee voting in favour of the bill last month.
The bill, sponsored by Senator John Viola, states that “internet lottery games would be offered solely to persons within the State of Delaware at the current time. A person’s location would be determined from a person’s computer or mobile device”.
Delaware Governor Jack Markell first announced his interest in regulating online gaming in March, stating that the expansion of gambling would help casinos by eliminating the US$4m in slot machine fees paid by the existing casinos and cut their table game fees from $6.75m to $3m, helping them to remain competitive with nearby states.
HB 333 also proposes the expansion of keno games beyond Delaware’s three existing casinos to more than 100 sites.