Best Delaware Casinos & Gambling Laws Guide

Legalization in Delaware

• Year Delaware Regulated Gambling: Horse racing (1935), Lottery (1974), Casinos (1994).
• Estimated Tax Revenue from Gambling: $253 million.
• Estimated Gambling Revenue (from casinos): $635 million.
• Delaware Gambling Age: 18 for lottery and bingo, 21 for casinos and racing.
• Smoking ban: formally banned in casinos.
• Delaware Online gambling: Horseracing, sports, poker, and casino games.
• Number of Casinos: 3
• Number of Poker Rooms: 4

Delaware Gambling Laws

Delaware’s gambling laws cover all forms of gambling in the United States. They allow games including Blackjack, Poker, Video Poker, and Slot Machines. In addition, the state lottery can be played over the age of 18. Furthermore, off-track horse race betting is allowed, as well as wagering on professional and college sports.

One of the most popular casinos, Dover Downs Casino, has some of the most popular table games on offer and one of the biggest casino floors in America. In conjunction, Delaware Park is the biggest race track in the state. Casino games allowed in the state include:

• Slots
• Video poker
• Blackjack
• Three Card Poker
• Four Card Poker
• Ultimate Texas Hold’em
• Craps
• Roulette
• Baccarat
• Pai Gow Poker

Federal laws do not apply in states, making it perfectly easy to enjoy online gambling. All gambling operations in the state are subject to a 43% tax on profits. Charity gambling on lotteries, poker tournaments, Bingo, and raffles are not taxed.

Top Casinos in DE

The best brick-and-mortar casinos in Delaware boast some of the top gaming floors in the country. These gambling venues are worth at least one visit. Be sure to test out as many games as possible to get the ultimate gaming experience.

Online Gambling Casinos in DE

To fully understand why online gambling is such an issue, it’s important to know about taxes. If online gambling websites offer their services illegally, they don’t pay tax. This means that the government loses out on funding. Of course, this is completely legal in Delaware, so you can gamble whenever because these casinos are open 24 hours a day.

Online poker is one of the most popular games, and the Delaware Poker Network is connected to WSOP.com in Nevada. This is the only interstate liquidity pool in the United States. Online poker is offered by the three tracks in the state, Delaware Park, Dover Downs, and Harrington Raceway. These sites are overseen by the lottery commission, which is the only lottery operator to oversee casino games and sites.

In addition to traditional gambling, Daily Fantasy Sports are also allowed in the state. DraftKings and FanDuel both advertise DFS as a skill game, making it legal for the moment. However, officials have yet to voice an opinion on it. Still, an investigation is currently underway to prove the legality of it all.

Gambling History

Gambling has existed in what is now Delaware since the 1760s. The first racetrack opened in Newark and sparked 150 years of off-the-book betting. The Delaware Racing Commission was founded in 1933 and regulated horse racing for the first time. Following this, the first license was issued in 1935 for Delaware Park.

In 1974, the Delaware Lottery was formed and began selling lottery tickets. All sales contributed to a general fund. Scratch cards followed in 1976 with Lucky Stars. In 1991, the Delaware Lottery joined the Multi-State Lottery Association, giving it access to interstate jackpots.

Three years later, they allowed video lottery machines, and the three state racetracks were allowed to install slot machines.

For more than two decades, these were the only gambling machines offered until 2010. Then, the state allowed table games to be added, including Live Poker, Blackjack, Craps, and Roulette tables.

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