Sports Betting Still Growing in Delaware
The October sports betting numbers for Delaware are in, and it was another impressive month for the state. Delaware is a state that has no mobile betting options and that has kept the state from really taking off.
For October, the total sports betting handle was $22.2 million, which was an increase of more than 62 percent from the action that took place in September. Of the $22.2 million, $12.2 million of that came from sportsbooks while the rest came from lottery retailers.
Delaware Park was the clear leader of sportsbooks in October as the total sports betting handle was $6.5 million. Harrington Raceway ($3.1 million) and Dover Downs ($2.6 million) are the other sportsbooks available in the state, but they are clearly chasing Delaware Park.
The fact that retail sports betting has continued to grow with only three options available is impressive. The lottery retailers that offer sports betting do so by only offering parlay cards to customers.
Despite the pretty significant growth in the total sports betting handle, the revenue for October was actually lower than it was in September. Sportsbooks in Delaware reported a total revenue of $3.1 million in October after that total was $3.2 million in September.
Delaware is never going to be one of the largest sports betting markets in the US, but it could grow if mobile betting became an option.
Plenty of Betting Options
The biggest reason for the large jump in the total handle from month to month was that the number of sports betting options increased. October is the lone month of the year that all four of the major professional sports are in action.
September saw a jump in total handle of more than 150% from August, and that was largely brought on by the start of the 2021 NFL season. All four sports played a role in October, but it was football that brought in the most action once again.
College basketball and college football were both in action during November, and that could produce another record-setting month. Those figures won’t be available until some point in 2022, but Delaware is trending in the right direction.
iGaming Revenue Increases
There are just six states in the U.S. that have online casino gambling, and Delaware is included in that list. Just like with sports betting, Delaware is not a large market, but it has put up some impressive numbers of late.
The monthly iGaming handle in Delaware for October was $25.5 million, which was just a slight decrease from September. Despite a two percent decrease in handle, the revenue actually went up month-over-month.
Online casino sites posted a revenue of $930,000, which was 17 percent more than what came in during September.
