The wide world of sports betting comes to Delaware Tuesday

Delaware will begin its full-scale sports betting operation Tuesday afternoon at the state’s three casinos.

A sports betting room in Delaware. (Steve Ruark/AP, file)

A sports betting room in Delaware. (Steve Ruark/AP, file)

Just three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for states to offer legalized sports betting, Delaware will start taking bets on professional sports including baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer, golf, and auto racing.

“Delaware is prepared to move forward,” said Rick Geisenberger, secretary of the state Department of Finance which oversees the Delaware Lottery.

The first bets will be taken on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at Delaware Park, Dover Downs, and Harrington Raceway. Delaware Gov. John Carney said in a statement the state has all of the legal and regulatory authority to move forward.

“We’re hopeful that this will bring even more visitors into Delaware to see firsthand what our state has to offer,” Carney said.

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Under a law passed in 2009, the state can legally offer betting on professional and collegiate sports — with the exception of games involving Delaware-based teams.

Since 2009, Delaware’s casinos have taken “parlay” bets on NFL football games. Those bets were allowed because the state was grandfathered in under a federal law that outlawed sports betting elsewhere on the East Coast. The parlay bets were accepted at various locations including bars, restaurants, and convenience stores. But, in part because of the complexity of the scale of bets now being accepted across multiple sports, the state is limiting full-scale sports betting to the state’s three casinos.

“We have worked closely with Delaware’s three casinos to train lottery and casino staff in preparation for a launch of expanded sports betting,” Geisenberger said.

The state lottery office has published a “how to” guide to explain how bets can be placed on various sports.

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