When it comes to gambling laws, the state of Delaware is the state with the freest gambling law (associated with New Jersey). In addition to the land-based casinos, the state also has legal and regulated charitable gambling with a minimum fee, simulcast wagering, live racing, daily fantasy sports, lottery, and online gambling, all legalized and regulated. Even private clubs and organizations are authorized to provide slot machines.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 Delaware is one of the most gambling-friendly states in the United States and is even more liberal than Nevada. Besides the type of gambling considered to be legal in the DE (including sports betting), the state also has online casino gambling, whereas Nevada only has poker.

In addition, Nevada does not have a lottery, and this is rather for profitability reasons than out of any conservative tendency towards gambling since it was the first state to have legalized and regulated gambling in such a way.

Delaware is extremely accommodating when it comes to charitable gaming, even if it is regulated by a commission. In Delaware, for instance, the entity wishing to host a bingo-type event pays $ 15 per day for the duration of the event. In case there are no prizes greater than $ 5, these fees are not even required. In addition, no tax is levied on charitable gaming. The only rule in this regard is that no one should lose more than $ 150 a day through charitable gaming.

Despite the fact that all other legalized and regulated forms of gambling exist in DE, the state lottery still works quite well with over $ 200 per person per year. One might think that lottery revenue may not be as important as all other forms of gambling, but it is doing very well. A simple fact of the matter is that most casino players are not interested in playing the lottery and most lottery players have no interest in visiting the casino. The fact is that most Delaware casino players do not play the lottery (or very little) and most lottery players do not gamble in DE casinos.

Delaware's three casinos also house racetracks and host live horse races. Greyhound racing is illegal in the state of Delaware and there are only ten states in which it is allowed.
The reality is that currently only six states are running live dog racing or have done so in recent years.

As in West Virginia, casinos in the state of Delaware are "linked," to racing establishments. As for the Delaware casinos, they are linked to a racetrack, while for West Virginia, only two casinos are linked to racetracks while the other two are linked to greyhound racing. The Greenbriar in West Virginia is considered a private casino because people can only play it if they pay to do something else in the complex, attend a conference, wedding or other specific event.

Private clubs, charities and non-profits are allowed to provide limited gaming machines as long as they pay the state 40% of the income. There are a few states (like PA, OH, WV, and others) that tax larger amounts at their own casinos!

It’s a little more restrictive than Nevada, where casinos can theoretically be open anywhere in a municipality, but Delaware is too small and probably couldn’t open more than three casinos. There is also considerable regional competition in Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

Legality of Online Gambling in Delaware

On the one hand, there are legal online casinos in the State of Delaware. For an online casino to operate legally in the Delaware, it must be linked to a physical casino within the state.
Players who choose to play at a foreign-based casino have the right to do so anyway. There is no penalty for players for unauthorized gambling.
There are penalties for operating an online casino that has not been regulated by the state, as well as offering illegal sports betting, but offshore casinos are completely beyond the scope of Delaware’s jurisdiction, so there is nothing they can do about it.

Once again, legally, the State of Delaware doesn't seem to really care about what players do.

Land Based Casinos in Delaware

Delaware Park Racetrack

The Delaware Park Racetrack also houses a casino full of slot machines, video poker, table games, and video keno. According to their website, they offer sports betting as well as live keno during certain hours. You will also find live poker there.
At this time, there are a number of table games including Blackjack, Three-Card Poker, Chase the Flush, 21 Spain, Cajun Stud, Pai-Gow Poker, Craps, and Roulette.

On their site, they say they have more than 2,000 slot machines. This makes them a fairly large casino that could compete with average casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
The property has several restaurants, and although there is no hotel on-site, the Christiana Hilton is nearby.
The racetrack is open in the summer, but closes for the rest of the time and the simulcast center remains open for off-line betting.

Dover Downs

Like Delaware Park, Dover Downs is full of gambling activities. For visitors wishing to spend the night there, there is an on-site hotel with over 500 rooms This casino offers practically the same games as the previous one according to its site.
The offer includes live keno at certain times, more than 2,300 slot machines, more than forty table games and more than a dozen poker tables. At the time of writing, table games include 3-card Poker, Blackjack, High-Card Flush, Roulette, Craps, Baccarat, Heads-Up Hold Em Pai-Gow Poker, Cajun Stud, and Four Card Frenzy.

According to their website, the racetrack runs during the colder months at the casino, from November to April.
They continue to offer simulcast races throughout the year, even when there is no live race.

Harrington Racing Casino & Racetrack

If you haven't been to Delaware in a while, you might recognize this building by its old name: Midway Slots. There are no hotels here, but they say discount rates are available at the nearby hotels.
This place is a bit smaller than the rest, with more than 1,700 slot machines, thirty tables for table games as well as a 100-seat poker room. (Ten Tables) There you will find two restaurants and two lounges. A shuttle service is only available from the hotel on weekends, which means that this place is for locals rather than tourists.
The list of table games available is as follows: Blackjack, Mississippi Stud, Big Six, Craps, Four-Card Poker, Heads-Up Hold 'Em, Crapless Craps, House Money Blackjack, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, 21 Spanish, and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em.

Sports bets and simulcast bets are available most of the time. The racetrack is open during the summer, although simulcast bets are available year-round.

Sports Betting

Most people believe that the only place to bet on sports legally in the United States is in Las Vegas. While this is true for certain types of sports betting, Delaware also offers this type of betting.
In 2009, the state of Delaware legalized sports betting, but was brought to court by the country's major sports leagues. The allegation was that Delaware violated federal law. After a legal battle, Delaware casinos were able to start accepting parlay bets. 
A parlay bet requires two bets. For example, if you are betting on two different NFL games, both must be won for your bet to be successful.

Lottery in Delaware

Residents of Delaware know they can play the lottery operated by the state, starting in 1975 or buy Mega Millions and Powerball multi-state lottery tickets.

Ownership of slot machines

Only slot machine collectors who have machines older than 25 years are eligible to own slot machines in Delaware. Anyone can pretend to be a collector, but no one is allowed to own a machine under the age of 25, except state-licensed casinos.

Bingo and Raffles

Any organization that qualifies to become a charity in the state of Delaware can offer raffles, bingo, Texas Holdem poker tournaments or bingo tickets. The rules and regulations are very strict for operators, but players can easily find bingo and raffle games.

In 2013, Delaware legalized the use of slot machines and video poker machines in certain state historical clubs. For this, the organization must have existed for at least 75 years, donate 40% of its revenues to the state and at least 60% of its share of the proceeds to a charity approved by the state.

Summary

Delaware is probably the most liberal state in terms of gambling, although its casinos must be linked to the state’s racetracks. This case and that of New Jersey are roughly similar since New Jersey casinos are only allowed in Atlantic City. In addition, the state offers absolutely all possible forms of gambling including legalized and regulated online casinos. That makes them different from Nevada as well as the fact that they have a lottery. It is also different from Nevada since it also offers a lottery.
The only difference between Delaware and Pennsylvania is that Pennsylvania doesn't find a way to put sports betting into the casino because of the huge fees they require.