Is sports betting legal in Delaware?

A state that was ready early

Delaware had a head start. The Delaware Lottery's fact sheet shows it introduced a Sports Lottery at the state's three racetracks in September 2009 and took it to select retailers in August 2012. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on 14 May 2018, the state was ready. The state's release said that under a 2009 state law, Delaware may authorize betting on professional and collegiate sports, and full-scale betting opened at 1:30 p.m. on 5 June 2018 at Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway.

Online betting came later. The fact sheet says the Lottery launched a single mobile app with online casino games and online sports on 27 December 2023.

How it works here

Delaware does it differently from most states: the Lottery runs sports betting itself, under the Department of Finance, rather than licensing a list of independent books. In person you bet at one of three casino sportsbooks, Delaware Park, Bally's Dover and Harrington, or at a Sports Lottery retailer. Online, the Lottery's iGaming page sends you to a BetRivers site for each of the three casinos, and you have to be in Delaware to play.

That makes it a small market with one platform behind every online bet. I'd still compare the three casino sites' lines, but I wouldn't expect much difference.

Rules worth knowing

The age is 21. The Lottery's sports page says so for the Sports Lottery, table games and internet games alike.

The Lottery also says wagers are not available for Delaware-based teams, so any game with a Delaware team in it is off the board. Otherwise college and pro games are both allowed. The full rules sit in the state's regulations, Title 10, Section 204.

I'd check that before building a parlay with a local team in it. Winnings are fully taxable on your federal return.

Where the offshore books fit

Offshore books take players from Delaware, but none of them is licensed by the state, so the Lottery has no hold over how they pay or settle a dispute. A state-run book answers to the state. Our offshore sportsbooks section explains how those books work, and the VPN question covers why hiding where you are tends to go wrong when you try to cash out.

If gambling has become a problem, the Lottery points to the Delaware Council on Gambling Problems helpline at 1-888-850-8888, and our responsible gambling page has more.

*Checked against the Delaware Lottery on 28 October 2026. Laws change; this page is re-checked every quarter. This is not legal advice.*