The Delaware betting landscape has undergone a transformative surge this March, reflecting a mammoth 440% leap in the state’s sports betting handle compared to the same period last year. The remarkable increase was not confined to sports betting alone, as the online casino market also witnessed a significant uptick, consolidating Delaware’s position as a burgeoning hub for gamers and bettors alike.
The sports betting handle, a metric that gauges the total amount of money wagered, registered a staggering $19.2 million in March, towering over the previous year’s $3.5 million and marking a 37.0% increase from February’s $13.8 million. These are not just impressive numbers, but signs of an industry experiencing unprecedented growth due in part to strategic technological partnerships and market expansions.
March’s revenue figures added another feather to Delaware’s cap, standing at an impressive $1.0 million – an 89.2% increase from the previous year’s $544,385 and an 83.8% uptick from February’s revenue of $560,449. The foundational driver behind this year-on-year growth is the Delaware Lottery’s debut online sportsbook, which, with Rush Street Interactive (RSI) and BetRivers at the helm, became fully operational in January.
An in-depth look into March’s performance reveals that Delaware Park was the frontrunner, generating a revenue of $681,548 from bets totaling $13.1 million. Trailing behind but with strong showings were Harrington Raceway with a revenue of $176,583 from $3.3 million in wagers, and Bally’s Dover garnering $113,692 from $1.5 million in bets. Additional contributions came from retailers spread across Delaware, who together added $58,273 in revenue from $990,664 in bets.
The online casino market echoed the sports betting sector’s success with a total expenditure of $136.0 million in March, a figure that soared above last year’s $41.5 million by 227.7% and surpassed February’s expenditure by 16.0%. A deeper dive into these figures shows that $85.3 million was bet on video lottery games, while online table games attracted $50.7 million in wagers.
Revenue from the online casino sector in March achieved an outstanding total of $4.6 million, once again dwarfing the $1.4 million from March of the previous year by a formidable 228.6% and exceeding the $3.9 million from the preceding month by 18.0%. Within this, online video lottery games accounted for $3.3 million in revenue and table games netted $1.3 million.
When spotlighting individual operators, Delaware Park stood out, claiming the top revenue spot with $2.0 million across online video and table games. Their total betting handle reached $71.1 million. In the second position was Harrington Raceway, with an igaming revenue of $1.6 million from a total of $38.9 million in wagers. Bally’s Dover rounded out the trio with $951,096 in revenue from $26.1 million in bets.
Igaming, much like sports betting in Delaware, has reaped the benefits of fresh market entries. Each of the state’s three operators unveiled new online casino platforms in January, setting the stage for a competitive and diverse gaming environment that promises to enhance consumer experiences and boost economic returns for the state.
Delaware’s relentless stride into the digital betting frontier serves as a standard-bearer for progressive state-led initiatives in the gaming industry. It exemplifies how judicious collaborations and technological advancements can revolutionize a market, converting it from a modest playing field to a lucrative and dynamic arena for both businesses and customers alike. As stakeholders continue to innovate and adapt, Delaware’s already flourishing betting sector seems poised for even greater heights in the approaching months.
