Federal court blocks bet plan
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia on Monday blocked plans by Delaware to offer single-game sports betting at the state's three racetracks.
However, the state will allow the tracks to offer customers wagering opportunities on parlay cards covering National Football League games, similar to what the state offered in 1976.
A three-judge panel from U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, following a two-hour hearing, sided with the arguments brought by attorneys representing the four major professional sports leagues in the NCAA, who claimed Delaware's plans to offer single-game wagering violated federal law.
Single-game sports wagering in Delaware was expected to start next week.
Brandywine Bookmaking of Las Vegas, which operates the Lucky's Race and Sports Books brand, was approved by Delaware to operate the sports books at the three racetracks.
Brandywine President Joe Asher declined comment on the ruling, deferring any remarks to the Delaware Lottery and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.
In an e-mailed statement, Markell, who made legalizing sports wagering in Delaware a key issue, said he was disappointed by the ruling and was evaluating other legal steps.
"The state still has the legal authority to offer a sports lottery of parlays involving professional football games, which is a competitive advantage for our three racinos," Markell said.
Because of its parlay cards offered through lottery 23 years ago, Delaware was one of four states along with Nevada, Oregon and Montana, that was exempted from a 1992 federal ban on sports wagering known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
Nevada is now the only state where wagering on individual professional and college games is taking place. In 2008, Nevada sports books took in $2.6 billion in wagers.
An attorney for Markell told the judges sports wagering was expected to generate as much as $17 million in Delaware during the fiscal year. The state is relying on the money to close an $800 million budget gap.
Single-game betting, however, "impacts on the integrity and image of the game" by raising doubts in fans' minds about "what happens on the field," NFL lawyer Kenneth Nachbar said.
The NFL, along with the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and the NCAA sued last month, alleging the plan authorized by state law in May violates Delaware's constitution and federal law.
Brandywine had planned to open its sports books next Tuesday. Asher said it was hard to predict how popular sports wagering would be in Delaware, but the racetracks were all within a two-hour drive from Philadelphia, New York, Washington D.C., and Baltimore, which collectively offer some 30 million potential customers.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
