Delaware Sports Lottery Statute Legalizes Single-Game Betting

Delaware's sports lottery runs through the state Lottery Office rather than a licensed private-operator market. 29 Del. § 4825(a) directs the Director to 'commence a sports lottery as soon as practicable' and to set its features by rule. Because § 4803(x) defines 'sports lottery' as any bet on 'the outcome of any professional or collegiate sporting event', not just parlay cards, the state's existing authority already covered single-game bets; only the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act stood in the way. S. Supreme Court struck PASPA down in Murphy v.

NCAA in May 2018, Delaware needed no new statute and took the country's first legal single-game wager on June 5, 2018. Betting is licensed to 'sports lottery agents' under § 4825(c), in practice the state's three casino/racetrack video lottery agents: Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, Harrington Raceway & Casino, and Delaware Park. The Lottery Office's mobile and online sports book, branded BetRivers through vendor Rush Street Interactive since 2023, still runs as the same state lottery game rather than a separately licensed private sportsbook. § 4810(a)(2) makes it 'unlawful for an individual who is under 21 years old to wager on the video lottery, sports lottery, table games, internet table games, or internet video lottery,' and § 4810(a)(3)-(4) classify a violation as an unclassified misdemeanor requiring 5 hours of problem-gambling counseling on conviction.

There is no local option: Delaware's counties and municipalities have no separate authority over sports wagering, which the Director administers exclusively through statewide rules and vendor licensing.

Wagering while under 21 is a criminal offense: 29 Del. C. § 4810(a)(2) bars anyone under 21 from betting on the sports lottery, § 4810(a)(3) classifies a violation as an unclassified misdemeanor, and § 4810(a)(4) requires 5 hours of state-approved problem-gambling counseling on conviction. Only Director-licensed sports lottery agents and the state's contracted wagering platform may lawfully accept a bet; any unlicensed offshore or out-of-state sportsbook operating in Delaware falls outside that framework entirely.