The legal status quo in Delaware – is online gambling legal in Delaware?
When many experienced bettors think of online gambling Delaware, they think revolutionary. The reason for this is that Delaware was one of the first states to fully legalise online gambling in the state. In 2012, online gambling Delaware activities such as online casinos and online boker.
This was years before many other states would even consider legalisation of online gambling activity. For example,
Illinois gambling sites
are still considered illegal under Illinois state law.
Yet, Delaware continued to blaze the way – while other states only legalized sportsbooks, online gambling Delaware legislation took a step further. In 2018, Delaware legalized online sportsbooks in their state. They were the first state in America to completely legalize all forms of online gambling.
It’s important to note they do have one major caveat when it comes to online gambling Delaware laws. While the free games (or social casinos) are available to anyone nationwide, the real money play is not.
Real-money online casinos and sportsbooks are only allowed to be legally played within the state of Delaware. If you were outside Delaware, and playing in a stricter state e.g Illinois, you are likely to get charged under Illinois state law.
Sports Betting in Delaware
– some great opportunities
Delaware
online gambling sites
can be a little tricky when it comes to online sportsbooks. The legislation on land based sports betting is fairly straightforward and simple.
As of today, there are three fully registered Delaware sportsbooks – Delaware Park Sportsbook, Dover Downs Sportsbook and Harrington Raceway. They all provide some great experiences – but what about online gambling Delaware sportsbooks?
Strangely enough, Delaware has not legalized mobile sports betting as of late. It’s fairly odd, since all other forms of Delaware online gambling sites are legal – but, there aren’t any options available for Delaware sportsbooks online.
Following Delaware internet gambling laws isn’t enough – you need to make sure your own information is secure. You can do this by making sure the provider's website is secure and making sure the provider is fully regulated in the US and for the state of Delaware.
You also need to make sure the sportsbook offers a wide variety of payment options. We go into more detail in our 'Is online gambling legal in Iowa?' page.
Casino gaming in Delaware – this is where the fun begins
Now, there’s no need to ask, 'is online gambling legal in Delaware?’ when it comes to online casinos. Unlike the sportsbooks, there’s absolutely nothing that’s off limits when it comes to online casinos.
You have the pick of all fruit, and trust us, there’s plenty of great quality online casinos that have set up shop as an online gambling Delaware platform.
It’s important to know all your picks might not come within the state of Delaware, however. Similar to
online gambling Florida, the online casinos within Delaware are linked to a land-based casino. So, all the online gambling Delaware casinos you play at would all be linked to Delaware Park, for example, and will have an online casino platform - it’s a good one too!
Another little tidbit you need to know is the legal gambling age. For online gambling Delaware, it’s actually different from sportsbooks. You have to be 21 and over to play with the best Delaware online gambling sites.
Once you meet that condition, you’re free to pick from the absolute best. Some of the best online casinos we’ve found to be great within Delaware are:
Online poker in Delaware – ace in the hole
We’ve already covered just how liberal Delaware can be with Delaware internet gambling. But, what about online poker? Do they offer anything unique?
Well, online poker is a little different from online gambling Delaware casinos. Delaware is the second state to legalize online poker – behind Nevada. The online poker vertical is heavily linked to Delaware’s online gambling sites – as mentioned before, the three land based casinos all have an online poker section.
Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway all have online poker sections in their Delaware online gambling sites. Interestingly enough, however, Delaware has a great ‘pool’ system when it comes to their online poker. Delaware shares a pool with Nevada, that allows them to ‘trade’ online poker players, and play online poker across both states.
So, not only do you have unrestricted access to all the Nevada online poker sites, you have the opportunity to play a whole new variety of players in your favorite online gambling Delaware platform.
There are a number of multi-state tournaments that are available on a daily basis – the largest being a $100 No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament, with the prize pool coming to $15,000! There are some great online poker opportunities in Delaware, and here are our best 5.
Fantasy Sports in Delaware
Fantasy sports, strangely, is a vertical where you do have to ask ‘is online gambling legal in Delaware?’ For a long time, Delaware had outlawed fantasy sports activity in the state.
Even when online gambling Delaware and poker was fully legal, fantasy sports were not – strangely enough, this was the opposite of most other states! You can see that for yourself on our "How many states have legal gambling?" page.
However, in 2017, Delaware finally came around and legalized fantasy sports throughout the state. Daily fantasy sports are what have the most legislation behind them at the moment.
Daily Fantasy Sports, or DFS, are fantasy sports competitions that only last a few days at maximum. So, for example, it would focus on a weekend basketball tournament, or one NFL game on match day. It doesn’t allow full-season betting across the board.
Social Casinos in Delaware – options galore
Maybe, you don’t even want to play with real money. Online gambling Delaware provides so much opportunity, but sometimes, people just want to play with the sheer thrill of playing casino games. That’s what social casinos are there for.
Again, no need to worry. You don’t have to google ‘Is online gambling legal in Delaware?’ in regards to social casinos – they’re perfectly legal too. With social casinos, you play with a virtual currency rather than real money – no risk, all the reward.
The great thing about social casinos in Delaware in particular, is that they offer a greater amount of variety. There’s nothing tied down by the logistics of real money play, which means there are so many more options of games to play. Whether it’s slots, table games, poker or bingo; the best social casinos in Delaware offer a little of everything.
Similar to the
best online gambling sites Indiana, Delaware is one of the few states that provides a great selection of table games with their social casinos. Most social casinos specialise in slot play-but these Delaware internet gambling platforms have everything. And, they’re names you’re surely familiar with, and have grown to trust by now. We believe the best social casinos in Delaware are:
- Dover Downs
- Delaware Parks
- LuckyLand Slots
- Chumba Casino
- Fortune Coins
Horse racing
Horse racing betting is what Delaware betting was originally built on. In fact, the first form of legal betting in Delaware was horse racing, back in 1933.
In fact, horse racing is arguably the centrepiece of all of the Delaware internet gambling sites. Some great online gambling Delaware websites that provide top notch horse racing betting are ArmWager Delaware, BetAmerica, TwinSpires and Harrington Raceway
Lottery
The Delaware Lottery has been a staple in Delaware for productive gambling activity.
Established in 1974, it was originally based around horse racing, but over the years, has soon grown into one of the best gambling activities for the entire state. Now, by visiting the Delaware Lottery website, you have the pick of a huge variety of different games.
From Play 3 Day and Play 4 Day, to the likes of Powerball, Mega Millions and Lucky for Life. The Delaware Lottery offers everything, and you’d be surprised that it would be one of the strongest online gambling Delaware platforms today.
Editor’s recommendation for the best operator for Delaware – Delaware Parks running wild
It’s not often we’d speak of a state based casino as one of the best available to its residents.
But, the truth is, Delaware Parks Casino is one of the best platforms in the entire country. Their iGaming platform looks to be relatively simplistic, but it really does provide everything you would need for a great casino experience.
The casino games have a great variety of both slots and table games, as well as offering a regular amount of tournaments for the consistent players.
They have a brilliant welcome offer - a 100% deposit bonus of up to $200, along with 20 free spins. This means whatever you deposit, that same amount will be put into your bank account as a bonus! Talk about value!
Their payment methods are as sure as can be – offering a great variety from debit card, ACH and Paypal that make everything simple. But, what we’re really most impressed by is the site navigability. Navigating this site is so easy – everything is laid out in detail, but still easy to understand.
In short, we absolutely recommend any Delaware residents to check into the online Delaware Parks casino for a spell. You’ll be hooked!
What does the future hold for betting and gaming in Delaware? The American dream
To be frank, the future is going to be extremely bright. Delaware has already legalized nearly all forms of online gambling, so it’s just a matter of time now before the value of their state starts to pick up, and more commercial casinos begin to set up an online presence within the state.
The only law left for Delaware to lift is mobile sports betting – but, we believe that is a triviality at this point. It has been an idea that Delaware has been toying with for a while, so they will eventually go through with it – sooner rather than later, we believe.
But, all in all, nobody will need to ask the question ‘Is online gambling legal in Delaware?’ anymore. Because, we believe it's just a matter of time before Delaware reaches the heights of a state like Nevada, and becomes associated with online gambling across the United States.
Conclusion – so many places to start
To wrap up, there’s really so much opportunity when it comes to online gambling in Delaware. There’s really something for everyone – great online casinos, sportsbook opportunities, quality fantasy sports operators. There’s even some of the best social casinos in the country, if you just want the thrill!
There’s so much you can take away from gambling in Delaware. And, while we believe Delaware Parks is the best platform, they might not suit your individual tastes. But, we can guarantee that you will find an operator in Delaware that will suit your tastes. So, what are you waiting for? Get to gambling!
Online gambling Delaware FAQ
How legal is it to online gamble in Delaware?
Well, that depends on what you’re interested in, and what suits your tastes. There are plenty of legal forms of gambling that are available to all kinds of players, according to the Delaware gambling laws. From the likes of slots and table games, to betting on your favorite sports, it’s up to you how to have the best online gambling Delaware experience. Every state will not have the same freedom, unfortunately. You may be tied down, depending on the state you’re in and their laws. For more information, check out our guides on legal gambling in each state.
Can you use DraftKings in Delaware?
Simply put, it depends. DraftKings is a platform that provides a multitude of services: from an online casino, to a sportsbook and a daily fantasy sports (DFS) section, there is plenty to choose from DraftKings. There are some states where all three are available, completely unrestricted. Indiana is an example of a sportsbook that has complete freedom for what vertical you want to use: from their sportsbook, to their casino. For more information, check out our best online gambling sites Indiana article.
What is the best sports gambling app for Delaware?
That’s a difficult question to answer, for a few different reasons. Sports gambling apps are hard to come across Delaware, mainly because of certain legislation about it - you have to look at Delaware gambling laws. Unlike online casinos or online poker, there isn’t a clear cut mobile experience. However, if you look at a different state, there will be far more options. Most states have fully legal, and some great mobile sportsbook apps that you can get something from. To see an example, check out our online gambling Florida article.
