DOVER, Del. — The governor of Delaware has proposed a sports lottery to help compensate for a $750 million shortfall in the state’s budget, but opponents contend the gambling expansion will only make matters worse. Gov. Jack Markell’s proposal, which he hopes to move through the Legislature quickly, would legalize sports betting at Delaware’s three existing casinos as well as up to 10 sports bars or restaurants, generating what he predicts to be an estimated $55 million in revenue for the state during the first year.
Also at a March 19 news conference, Markell proposed adding up to three more casinos, which also would feature sports betting.
USA Today reported that the governor’s office sent a letter to the Delaware Supreme Court asking for the court’s guidance on what type of sports lottery would comply with state law.
In the letter, Markell presented three possibilities: single-game, where a player would use the betting line to place a bet on a game; total lottery, where players would select whether the total scoring for a game would be over or under a set line; and parlay lottery, where players would select from a number of different games. Delaware experimented with sports betting in the 1970s, but it only lasted a few months. Last year, a bill that sought to reinstate a sports lottery passed the state’s House of Representatives but fell short in the Senate.
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