Online gambling and expansion in sportsbetting will only have to wait for a few more steps before they become legal in the state of Delaware, USA. This proposed law had already passed through the House of Representative and is being passed on to Senate. With this law, online slot machines and table games will already be legally available to residents of Delaware. It also promotes the expansion of keno to 100 or more websites.
House Bill No.333, or the proposed Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012, has already made it through the House of Gaming and Parimutuels Committee a month before it was put forward to the House of Representatives. It garnered 29 votes in its favor and eight votes against it in the House of Representatives.
The proposed bill was strongly supported by the Governor of Delaware, Jack Markell. Under this bill, players of online gaming 21 years and above will be under the control of the state lottery. Internet games will be offered to those within the state during the time that they access online gambling and sportsbetting sites. As for their location, this can be determined from the person’s device.
From the House of Representative, the bill will move on to the Senate to be voted on. And if there are no further revisions, Delaware residents may already be able to bet on National Football League (NFL) games on 20 or more online sportsbetting sites.
According to Representative John Viola, this bill seemed to be “the next logical step” towards the modernization of the state’s gambling industry. With this legislation alone, officials can waive four million dollars worth of slot machine fees that are currently being paid by casinos. Table gaming duties will also be cut down to three million dollars from $ 6.75 million. Casinos could spend equal amounts on other expenses like marketing, reduction of their debts and capital improvements.
With the House Bill No.333, a centralized online system for gambling can be in the full control of the Delaware state Lottery, though they will still have to be operated by third-party vendors. Websites will be available through the existing casinos in Delaware with blackjack, poker and online slot machines. Bars and restaurants are also allowed to offer instant lottery games and sell football parclay cards, under the proposed House Bill.
