Delaware starts NFL-only betting after court upset

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Behind the shiny, granite bar in the new sports- book parlor at Dover Downs casino, a baseball glove sits on a shelf. A basketball is perched near a cash register. They won’t matter for bettors in Delaware’s new sports lottery: The only game in town is NFL football.

And make that games, not game. After an expensive court battle, plans by state leaders and casino operators to offer betting on single games in multiple sports were struck down. Delaware can only offer betting on at least three NFL games per wager, called parlay bets.

After spending about $12 million to prepare for full sports books, the state’s three racetrack casinos are scrambling to make the best of parlays when the NFL regular season starts Thursday. They’ll promote Delaware as the only state east of the Rockies with legal sports wagering.

“We’re going to make it work,” said Dover Downs Inc. president and CEO Ed Sutor.

Dover Downs offers visitors a gleaming, high-tech sports book plastered wall-to-wall with flat-screen TVs and dominated by a huge electronic tote board. This week’s action was simulcast horse racing, U.S. Open tennis and ESPN. It’s a sure bet football will dominate the screens next week.

State officials still haven’t decided what the minimum and maximum betting limits will be, and parlay cards with the game picks and point spreads aren’t expected to arrive at casinos until opening day.

Gamblers will make cash wagers and receive payouts on bets that involve at least three games. A bettor must pick all the winning teams to win. The odds of winning, and the payout, increase with the numbers of games bet. For example, a parlay bet on three games might involve 6-to-1 odds, while a parlay involving five teams might involve 25-to-1 odds.

“We are working around the clock on this stuff,” acting state finance secretary Tom Cook said. “All I can guarantee you is that we will be ready.”

But parlay betting could be a tough sell among some sports fans.

The good news for Delaware is that sports-betting is a no-lose proposition: It has a contract with Scientific Games Corp. with a provision indemnifying the state from incurring any losses. If it’s profitable, Scientific Games takes 15.6 percent off the top. Of the remainder, the state would get 50 percent, the casinos 40 percent, and the horse-racing industry 10 percent.