The state of Delaware has seen its sportsbetting industry take off, as the First State's punters bet $7 million on the activity in its first month on offer.
The state made the money in less than the full month, actually, as sportsbetting wasn't set to be offered until June 5th, and the 24th was the end of the fiscal month. The activity was legalized early in the month and three Delaware racetracks began offering the activity immediately thereafter. Revenues made by the tracks was $1,000,247 during that period.
House edge on win was 14%, much greater than the standard 5-6% edge seen in other markets. It's possible that many bettors wagered with their hearts rather than their brains, or they were just unlucky.
Delaware Thoroughbred Horseman's Association Executive Director Bessie Gruwell spoke about the results, saying: "Any time we can add any money to our purse account we are happy. I'm glad that this started when it did, at a time when there aren't a lot of sports to bet on, because they have some kinks to work out. They shut down at 11 p.m., so they had to, on one occasion, turn everyone away in the middle of one of the NBA finals game. There's also been long lines. But, hopefully, they should have everything working much better by the time the NFL and college football games start. If they do, and with the popularity of those sports, I would imagine that $62,000 figure would grow quite a bit."
Delaware was the first state to legalize sportsbetting after the Supreme Court overturned the ban on the activity in early May. The state was keen to move to beat neighboring states, and it appears that strategy is paying off, at least in the short term.
Comments
Obviously Delaware already benefiting from being the 'First State" as Dustin called it, but there should a better scientific method of explaining the huge house edge than just pure luck or stupid players 😜