Green light given to sports betting by Delaware Supreme Court

Gov. Jack Markell speaking at Delaware Park after signing a bill legalizing sports betting in Delaware. Joining him (from left to right) are Senate Majority Leader Anthony DeLuca, House Majority Leader Peter Schwartzkopf, Rep. Deborah Hudson, House Majority Whip Valerie Longhurst and Speaker of the House Robert Gilligan. In the back (obscured) is Rep. Tom Kovach. (Photo by Antonio Prado/Community News)

The Delaware Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion late Wednesday that could allow sports betting to come to Delaware as early as September.

Just last week, an attorney for the National Football League made the case to the Delaware Supreme Court that sports betting should not be considered a lottery, due to the high percentage of winners and the impact of an individual’s skill on the outcome. Both the NFL and the NCAA opposed Delaware’s decision to allow sports betting, and both have been lobbying against it.

The justices ruled that the authorization of a state-controlled “lottery” in the Delaware Constitution is not limited to games of pure chance, and allows games involving skill as long as chance is the dominant factor. Their ruling also concluded that a parlay sports lottery is a constitutional game under this standard, citing Judge Walter K. Stapleton’s 1977 decision in National Football League v. Governor of the State of Delaware.

The Justices also unanimously concluded that the sports lottery proposal is “under State control” as required by the Delaware Constitution. According to their ruling, the legislation does not otherwise impermissibly delegate legislative power to the lottery director.

“I am very pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision,” said Gov. Markell. “This decision resolves the legal issues that have been presented and provides a solid legal framework for our sports lottery. With this guidance in hand, we are moving forward with implementing a successful sports lottery in Delaware.”

The court was unable to decide specifically whether a single game sports lottery is constitutional because the unique nature of a request for an opinion of the justices does not provide the opportunity to develop the factual record necessary to make that decision. However, with the court’s rejection of the “pure chance” standard, the State Lottery Office maintains that the single game sports lottery, with a proper betting line, meets the dominant factor test.