In a notable uptick for Delaware’s gambling sector, February saw its iGaming revenue surge to a remarkable $3.9 million, reflecting a hefty 254.6% increase when juxtaposed with the $1.1 million recorded in the same month of the previous year. Even more compelling is the fact that this figure also represents a 14.7% elevation from the revenue registered in January, which stood at $3.4 million.
Delving deeper into revenue specifics, it’s clear that video lottery games were the heavy hitters, generating $2.8 million of the total iGaming haul. Online table games also demonstrated robust performance, contributing a substantial $1.1 million over the course of February.
Consumer spending patterns within the online gaming domain underscore the revenue growth, as players wagered an astronomical $117.2 million in February. Parsing these figures further reveals that $68.4 million was dedicated to video lottery games while table games attracted $48.8 million in bets. This level of spending not only shatters the previous year’s figures by 208.4% but also shows a solid month-on-month growth of 13.5%, up from $103.3 million wagered in January.
Focusing on individual establishment performances, Delaware Park emerged as the preeminent contributor to iGaming revenue for the month, chalking up an impressive $2.1 million. Harrington Raceway followed with a notable $1.0 million in revenue, and not far behind, Bally’s Dover rounded out the trio with earnings of $717,119.
Switching the narrative to sports betting, Delaware experienced a significant uptick here as well, with revenue reaching $560,449 in February. This figure surpasses the earnings from February of the previous year by 82.8%. However, it is necessary to note a substantial decrease of 68.6% from the $1.8 million revenue in January.
In terms of the sports betting handle—the total amount wagered by bettors—this reached $13.8 million, dwarfing the previous February’s total by an impressive 236.6%. Despite this year-on-year surge, the handle did see a slight decline of 2.8% from January’s handle.
Among the contenders in the sports betting market, Delaware Park took the lead again, securing $473,002 in revenue, closely tailed by Harrington Raceway with a sum of $133,989. Lastly, Bally’s Dover added a commendable $82,984 to the sports betting revenue pie.
The revenue figures for sports betting could have been remarkably higher but for the losses incurred by retailers offering sports betting services, which amounted to $129,526—a testament to the volatility and risk inherent in the retail sports betting landscape.
As the numbers come in, the trends depict a rapidly growing enthusiasm for both iGaming and sports betting in Delaware—a market that seems to be thriving on both fronts. This growth could be an indicator of a broader acceptance and integration of these activities into the day-to-day entertainment scenarios of Delaware residents, a phenomenon which seems to be mirrored in various other jurisdictions across the United States.
With players increasingly accustomed to the online sphere for both gaming and sports betting, Delaware’s recent financial results could potentially drive further innovation and investment in the sector. Whether this marks a sustained upward trajectory or a temporary spike remains to be seen, but stakeholders in Delaware’s gaming industry can, for now, revel in a period of marked prosperity.
