US: Delaware House approves intrastate online gambling legislation

The proposed Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012 made it through the House Gaming and Parimutuels Committee last month before being put forward for a full House of Representatives vote earlier this week and would authorise Internet gaming for players over the age of 21 in the state under the control and operation of the Delaware Lottery

Supported by first-term Democrat governor Jack Markell, the proposed legislation, which is also known as House Bill 333, made it through the House of Representatives by a vote of 29 to eight and would also authorise online slots and table games while expanding keno beyond Delaware's three existing casinos to at least 100 sites.

The bill is now scheduled to go before the Delaware Senate for a vote and would, if passed in its current form, additionally authorise residents to wager on National Football League (NFL) games in at least 20 sites other than casinos.

The Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012 was sponsored in the House of Representatives by John Viola, who stated that the proposed legislation represents ‘the next logical step’ in the evolution of the state’s gambling industry.

The Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012 would enable state officials to eliminate the four million dollars in slot machine fees currently paid by casinos in ‘The First State’ while table gaming duties would be slashed from us$ 6.75 million to around us$ 3 million. In return for these breaks, casinos would be asked to spend an equal amount on traditional business expenses such as marketing, capital improvements and debt reduction.

“Online gaming is coming and we need to decide in this building whether we want to be on board with that or not,” said Viola, a Democrat that has been a member of the Delaware House of Representatives since 1998.

House Bill 333 calls for the establishment of a centralised online gambling system regulated by the Delaware Lottery but operated by a third-party vendor. Individual websites would be made available via each of the three existing Delaware casinos and include games such as blackjack, poker and slots. The proposed legislation would also permit bars and restaurants to offer keno instant lottery games and sell professional football parlay cards, which are currently only available in casinos.