Reversal: Delaware Now Approves Sports Betting

[bluehenbillk]

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090508/NEWS02/905080356&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

And they are allowing table games, Atlantic City won't like that one bit.

[93henfan]

Round two of a long fight. Expect this one to be interesting all summer. Also, expect one season of potential Delaware home playoff games to possibly be disrupted if it passes all the way through the Gov. It'll probably take a year for the courts to decide that it's silly to penalize one state for sports gambling but not a couple of others.

This would be very good news for Delaware's budget. Of course, Jersey would quickly try to find a loophole to allow sports betting to quell the upstart neighbor's trump (pun intended) card.

The downside to this, as a native Delawarean, is that this may mean the Atlantic Citification of Rehoboth, Dewey, and Fenwick Island if they give the green light for Sussex County to build. Bethany would likely hold out.

[bluehenbillk]

Round two of a long fight. Expect this one to be interesting all summer. Also, expect one season of potential Delaware home playoff games to possibly be disrupted if it passes all the way through the Gov. It'll probably take a year for the courts to decide that it's silly to penalize one state for sports gambling but not a couple of others.

This would be very good news for Delaware's budget. Of course, Jersey would quickly try to find a loophole to allow sports betting to quell the upstart neighbor's trump (pun intended) card.

The downside to this, as a native Delawarean, is that this may mean the Atlantic Citification of Rehoboth, Dewey, and Fenwick Island if they give the green light for Sussex County to build. Bethany would likely hold out.


2 points: With the margin of the vote (30-4) I think this will happen right away, like you'll see table games in Delaware Park for the July 4th weekend. As for New Jersey, they saw this coming and filed a federal lawsuit a few months ago to attempt to legalize sports gambling in all 50 states versus the 4 that currently can do it.

[DSUrocks07]

xsmhx

this only increases the chances i get laid off...

don't get me wrong, i love the idea of sports betting and table games here in DE. But what I don't like is that how the state now will get 63.5% of all revenues made by my company, and thats before the state, and federal taxes are included. This sucks.

[93henfan]

xsmhx

this only increases the chances i get laid off...

don't get me wrong, i love the idea of sports betting and table games here in DE. But what I don't like is that how the state now will get 63.5% of all revenues made by my company, and thats before the state, and federal taxes are included. This sucks.

Here's the problem. Both of the groups affected by this have recently held rallies on the lawn in front of Legislative Hall. Your group (the racino employees) turned out a smattering of protestors a couple months ago. The other group (state employees) turned Dover into a mob scene on Wednesday. There were pictures all over the papers of teachers, DelDot workers, and State Troopers holding up signs of the various politicians they intend to vote against next election with "X"s spray-painted over their names and faces. It was the most action Dover had seen in a long time and it puckered up the politicians' sphincters. 30,000 voters potentially moving in lockstep in a state of less than a million tends to do that.

[Ivytalk]

It was the most action Dover had seen in a long time and it puckered up the politicians' sphincters. 30,000 voters potentially moving in lockstep in a state of less than a million tends to do that.

Which tells you EXACTLY how overgoverned DE is.xsmhx

Back to a state of angst for the FCS playoffs.
xeekx

[blukeys]

Round two of a long fight. Expect this one to be interesting all summer. Also, expect one season of potential Delaware home playoff games to possibly be disrupted if it passes all the way through the Gov. It'll probably take a year for the courts to decide that it's silly to penalize one state for sports gambling but not a couple of others.

This would be very good news for Delaware's budget. Of course, Jersey would quickly try to find a loophole to allow sports betting to quell the upstart neighbor's trump (pun intended) card.

The downside to this, as a native Delawarean, is that this may mean the Atlantic Citification of Rehoboth, Dewey, and Fenwick Island if they give the green light for Sussex County to build. Bethany would likely hold out.


I expect this will be interesting all summer but legislatively it will be decided by June 30 as the Delaware General Assembly goes out of session June 30.

[GannonFan]

At this point it's hard to see how gambling won't be passed in some form. Based on the vote by the House, it looks like it will be a slam dunk to be implemented in some fashion. And of course when it does, New Jersey will try to break the federal stalemate and allow sports gambling everywhere.

Again, hard to see what the NCAA will do - trying to hurt Delaware will only bring up the problem the NCAA has already where it allows playoffs and championships to be held in Nevada and Montana, both states where sports gambling is and has been legal, and if New Jersey wins, and they have a good case, at some point in the near future sports gambling will be legal everywhere.

[Syntax Error]

NCAA officials said a sports betting lottery would make Delaware off-limits for any postseason championship events. NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said NCAA policy prohibits the staging of any session of an NCAA championship in any metropolitan area where legal sports wagering is allowed.http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=4019996

[93henfan]

NCAA officials said a sports betting lottery would make Delaware off-limits for any postseason championship events. NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said NCAA policy prohibits the staging of any session of an NCAA championship in any metropolitan area where legal sports wagering is allowed.

Wow. If you wanted to liberally interpret that, Delaware is in the Philly metropolitan area and a case might be made by some that Sussex County, DE is in the Baltimore/DC metro area (at least by TV market standards). Would the NCAA dare make that liberal interpretation? xlolx That's a lot of teams not able to host playoff games.

[GannonFan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=4019996


Great article - a little dated though, as it doesn't detail that the NCAA also allows postseason play in Montana, a state that also has sports gambling. Best part was the end of the article, where the NCAA tries to explain why they've still allowed Nevada to host postseason NCAA events...


Osburn, the NCAA spokeswoman, said there has been no inconsistency ...

Osburn said the decision to use Reno, Nev., as a site for this year's West Regional skiing championships was "an administrative oversight on our part."


Yeah, apparently they "forgot" that Nevada is home to sports gambling. Just as they've conveniently "forgotten" that Montana also allows sports gambling. Heck, the Final Four teams in the NCAA tournament this year stayed across the border in a casino in Canada - apparently the NCAA is "forgetting" quite a few things lately. Either the NCAA starts banning events in those states too (no more Griz home playoff games), and actually follows through with it, or they will lose in court if they try to ban Delaware only. And besides, it's only a matter of time until sports gambling is made legal everywhere, courtesy of New Jersey, and then the NCAA will have to start hosting postseasons outside of the country, assuming they can find countries where sports gambling isn't legal.

[GannonFan]

Wow. If you wanted to liberally interpret that, Delaware is in the Philly metropolitan area and a case might be made by some that Sussex County, DE is in the Baltimore/DC metro area. Would the NCAA dare make that liberal interpretation? xlolx That's a lot of teams not able to host playoff games.


Yup, and that's where the weakness of the NCAA's case will come into play. UD and DSU do not control the government, and as such, they don't legislate. Punishing those schools for the actions of a state government isn't going to fly, especially when it's not been applied consistently.

[bluehenbillk]

Is sports betting currently legal in Montana? I never knew that.

[93henfan]

Is sports betting currently legal in Montana? I never knew that.

It's a sport lottery of some sort. It's not a sportsbook per se.

EDIT: Per this article http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/mar/23/bc-sports-betting-1st-ld-writethru0716-lawsuit/
Montana allows what's going on illicitly in most other states this month: NCAA basketball tournament pools at bars that register with the state lottery. The state also allows betting on fantasy sports leagues.



That article also gives good detail on Jersey's lawsuit.

[DFW HOYA]

Wow. If you wanted to liberally interpret that, Delaware is in the Philly metropolitan area and a case might be made by some that Sussex County, DE is in the Baltimore/DC metro area (at least by TV market standards). Would the NCAA dare make that liberal interpretation? xlolx That's a lot of teams not able to host playoff games.

No Delaware counties are included in the MSA (metropolitan statistical area) for Baltimore or Washington DC. However, New Castle County is part of the Philadelphia MSA.

[GannonFan]

Is sports betting currently legal in Montana? I never knew that.

Just google Montana sports action. Montana, like Delaware and Nevada, was one of the states that could still allow gambling when it was banned nationwide. They don't have straight sports gambling ala Vegas (and Delaware wouldn't either), but they do allow gambling on NASCAR and the NFL, plus they allowed gambling on March Madness this year as well. And again, while not like Vegas, the NCAA didn't distinguish between different types of gambling - gambling is gambling to them.

Like I said, if they want to ban postseason play from the state of Delaware, it could be the end of home playoff games for the Griz as well.

[93henfan]

No Delaware counties are included in the MSA (metropolitan statistical area) for Baltimore or Washington DC. However, New Castle County is part of the Philadelphia MSA.

But is that what the NCAA uses as its basis, or do they use TV? Cable TV in Sussex County, DE carries Baltimore, DC, and Salisbury MD stations.

[bluehenbillk]

They don't have straight sports gambling ala Vegas (and Delaware wouldn't either), but they do allow gambling on NASCAR and the NFL.


Well if they allow gambling on the NFL, I'd imagine close to 90% of Vegas' sportsbook income comes from the NFL.

[Cocky]

Delaware can come play their playoff game in Jacksonville. We may have an upgraded stadium with an ineligible team. Or you could just play all your game in Chattanooga.

[93henfan]

Delaware can come play their playoff game in Jacksonville. We may have an upgraded stadium with an ineligible team. Or you could just play all your game in Chattanooga.

On a serious note, let's say Delaware finished with a 9-2 record and was worthy of a seed and the state had instituted sports betting and the NCAA puts on the c-block by then. Would the committee be forced to give someone else the seed and treat Delaware as a school with a low-capacity stadium and put us on the road starting round 1, OR would they simply give Delaware the seed and have us play at the closest agreeable school? Penn would seem the logical choice, even with the plastic rug. We do practice on plastic, and Nova's stadium is just too small to host a Delaware "home" playoff game and make a decent buck for the NCAA.