Sussex sports betting eyed : Proposal would offer option at casinos and outside parlors

[clevfan]

Sussex sports betting eyed : Proposal would offer option at casinos and outside parlors

By Drew Volturo, Delaware State News
May 8, 2007


DOVER - The discussion surrounding sports betting is certain to heat up, and a proposal recently unveiled to authorize the practice will only fan the flames.

A recently released study reported that beleaguered state coffers could receive an additional $70 million in revenue annually if it authorizes sports gaming, and legislators, gaming officials and lobbyists are preparing for the debate on the topic.

Officials with Delaware Sportsbetting Corp., are shopping draft legislation that would enable the First State to begin accepting wages for sporting events - a form of gambling often associated with Las Vegas but available to Delaware as well.

But unlike other proposed scenarios, this plan would allow sports betting at locations throughout the state in addition to Delaware's three casinos - Delaware Park in Stanton, Dover Downs and Midway Slots in Harrington.

"We are hearing a lot from people in Sussex that they want a place to go in the county if they want to place a bet, and it's a long way to go to Harrington," said Gary Ward, spokesman for Delaware Sportsbetting Corp.


Sports betting, or sports gaming, has been a topic of discussion for years, with advocates claiming it could provide the First State with a competitive edge that no one could beat.

Delaware is one of only four states - and the only one east of the Mississippi River - grandfathered from a 1992 federal law prohibiting sports betting. Montana, Nevada and Oregon are the others excluded from the law.

Delaware's lottery had a sports game in 1976 and the state constitution allows sports betting.

Under the proposed measure, sports betting would be authorized at the three racinos, with a license issued to Delaware Sportsbetting once it complies with state regulations.

Mr. Ward said the group ideally would like to open sports betting parlors - complete with bars and lounges - in the Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach and Seaford areas.



Allowing parlors in Sussex could help with capturing tourists, Maryland residents and Sussex residents who wouldn't drive to Harrington or Dover, he said.

Sen. George H. Bunting Jr., D-Bethany Beach, introduced similar legislation in 2005 and said he has been approached with the current proposal.

"I'm still listening and hoping to come up with a solution. We're facing an unbelievable financial problem right now," Sen. Bunting said of tight revenues and a $1.5 billion shortfall in the Transportation Trust Fund over six years.

"I as a legislator can't in good conscience vote for a nickel gas tax with prices nearing $3 a gallon.

"In our caucus the other day, we were asking, 'Anyone got any ideas to raise some revenue?' "

The 50-page independent study, commissioned by the Video Lottery Advisory Council, states that sports betting alone would generate $26 million annually but also would create an additional $169.3 million in slots revenues and about 250 new jobs.

The state's share of the sports betting and additional slots revenue would be about 36 percent, or $69.7 million, annually.

Mr. Ward said each of the proposed parlors could pull in $10 million to $15 million each annually and would contribute 36 percent of that to the state, 10 percent to horsemen and 10 percent to the racetracks.

VLAC chairman and Dover Downs CEO and president Edward J. Sutor said sports betting should be limited to the state's three casinos, pointing to an established structure and destination for bettors.

"If sports betting goes statewide, my concern would be that young people might be able to participate," Mr. Sutor said.



"Here at the racetracks, we have highly skilled security experienced in this area and the chances of something like that happening are slim."

Mr. Sutor said that sports betting should be limited to the three casinos because they have the infrastructure in place - food, drink, entertainment and other activities.

Dover Downs also has a hotel on the premises for bettors who travel from outside Delaware.

Additionally, Mr. Sutor noted that most of the revenue that sports betting would generate for the state would be from increased slots play rather than the actual sports betting.

Because sports betting in Delaware would be unique to the eastern half of the U.S., it would draw people who would stay and play the slots.

Rep. Vincent A. Lofink, R-Bear, who chairs the House Gaming and Pari-mutuels Committee, said that it is premature to introduce the proposed measure before legislators have a chance to dissect the revenue study.

"Nobody's talked about the mechanics of this," Rep. Lofink said. "We all know how slots works, you put your money in and pull the lever and wait 10 seconds.

"But it's different with sports betting."

The process, he said, must be approached delicately, especially with Gov. Ruth Ann Minner opposed to sports betting.

Rep. Lofink noted that the initial concept for sports betting calls for betting only at the three casinos, "but that's not cast in stone, that's a starting point."

All options, he said, are on the table, but he does not intend to move forward with legislation until after the committee hearing, currently set for the first week in June.

[Don Eagleston]

Momentum is gathering for it. Dover Downs trying to protect its home turf. Never happen in Bethany Beach which is to the right of Attila the Hun! Rehoboth is a likely place because it is growing like wildfire. State officials need to look at Pennsylvania and Md betting parlors to see that Sutor's concerns are unfounded and self-serving. 70 million is a lot of revenue for Delaware since it is such a small state (only 3 counties).

[Highwayman]

Morally responsible Governments' don’t participate in vise-trade activities for profit.



.

[clevfan]

Lawmakers wager sports betting
could boost state's revenues

By Ron MacArthur
Cape Gazette staff
May 11, 2007

Some Delaware lawmakers are betting on a quirk in state law as a way to boost state revenue and perhaps help the ailing Transportation Trust Fund.


Delaware is one of only four states, and the only state east of Montana, grandfathered in a 1992 federal law prohibiting sports betting. Because Delaware allowed sports betting on college and professional games at the time the federal law passed, sports betting is still permitted in the state.


Tried once before back in the early 1970s, sports betting is one of the hot topics in the halls of the General Assembly, and legislation is expected to be introduced to bring it back.


Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach, tried and failed in 2005 to get sports betting legislation passed. He says there were two major reasons for its failure. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner was opposed to sports betting, and there was no dire picture being painted on the state’s financial canvas.


The financial picture has changed, and Bunting said he can see no other way to dramatically increase revenue. “In my 23 years in the Legislature, I’ve never seen finances as tough as they are at this present time. What can we do?” he asked.


Bunting says there may be more public support for expanding gambling in the state than the proposed revenue increases being debated in the General Assembly.


Betting
Continued frompage 1
He may be right. Two revenue enhancement bills, with increased fees or taxes, were tabled on Wednesday, May 9, in the House of Representatives. And the governor has been asked by Senate Republicans to trim from 5 percent to 10 percent, $150 million to $300 million, from her $3.5 billion budget for fiscal 2008.


House Bill 49, which would add 45 cents additional tax to a pack of cigarettes, and H.B. 50, which includes increased fees and taxes for the Transportation Trust Fund, were tabled.


Bunting said economic necessity may force a sports gambling bill to surface and be acted on in the General Assembly within the next two years. “I’m not a great fan of gambling. There is a lot of hypocrisy in it because sports betting is done all the time,” he said.


A New York study estimates that as much as $380 billion is bet illegally each year on sporting events. The 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act banned betting on sports in 46 states. Delaware, Nevada, Oregon and Montana already had some form of sports betting in operation and were grandfathered in under the law.


Economic impact


A 50-page report, “Revenue & Economic Impact of Proposed Sports Betting Legislation in Delaware,” commissioned by the Video Lottery Advisory Council (VLAC) and conducted by Morowitz Gaming Advisors, estimated that as much as $70 million could be added to the state’s coffers annually - directly related to sports gambling.


The report estimates that sports betting would generate $26 million annually with a $169 million increase to the take at the three racinos each year. As many as 247 new jobs would be created at the racinos located in Harrington, Dover and Wilmington.


The state’s share of the additional revenue would be about $70 million annually.


In addition, the report concluded the following would be generated annually: $8 million in miscellaneous state taxes; $24 million in purse enhancements at the three horse tracks; $18 million in increased revenue to hotels and restaurants; $11 million in horse-racing revenue; $46 million in construction (one year only); and $116 million and nearly 1,400 new jobs in support services.


Ed Sutor, chairman of VLAC, said although the numbers seem lofty, they are realistic. The figures are based on interviews with more than 1,500 men within a 150-mile radius of Delaware, and the information was then applied to the population base, Sutor said.


Betting in Sussex


One plan being discussed would not only add sports betting at the state’s three racinos, but also provide sports betting parlors in the Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach and Seaford areas in Sussex County. Others have proposed to add sports betting at all lottery sales outlets. Sutor is not a fan of either proposal. He says sports betting should be limited to the three racino facilities. “Profits on sports betting are actually very small,” he said. “I don’t see how a stand-alone sports book would work without slots and the other amenities.


“It’s not the sports betting alone, it’s more of a marketing tool, and it’s what people do when they get here. Unless you have the slots, there is not enough there.”


He said payout on sports betting is nearly 95 percent.


He said adding off-track betting parlors is like “changing the rules in the middle of the game.”


Bunting said the details of how sports betting in Delaware would operate are still up in the air. “There are at least a half-dozen versions out there on how to do it,” he said.


He hinted that it may be time to seriously look at offerings in Sussex County. “With the tracks making the kind of money they are, they will protect their turf – I understand that,” he said. “But Sussex County has the population to make it go and there will be people coming from Maryland.”



Competition coming


Sutor said the General Assembly has a chance to get ahead of the curve in the competition for gambling dollars in the Mid-Atlantic region.


With casinos already opening in Pennsylvania, legislators in Maryland will soon allow slots in that state. About 40 percent of the people who gamble in the three racinos in Delaware come from Maryland, he said. Sports betting will help the state retain a strong competitive edge to keep people crossing state lines.


“We stand a much better chance if we act now and already have sports betting established, because no matter how badly Maryland wants sports betting, they can’t have it,” he said.


The council, formed in 2003 under House Bill 269, issued the following in its 2006 report: “The VLAC strongly recommends that in the light of the recent escalation of various gaming initiatives in nearby states, sports betting in Delaware should be elevated to an urgent status of consideration.”


The council estimates that the opening of slot operations in Pennsylvania will reduce projected fiscal 2007 revenue in Delaware by $10 million, and by $35 million in fiscal 2008.


In addition, with possible competition from Maryland, West Virginia legislators are considering table-game legislation.


Other recommendations to boost revenue at the racinos included the following:


• The elimination of Sunday-morning closings.


• Beginning the process of adding table games to the existing slot-machine offerings at the three racinos. This would require a constitutional amendment including a 75 percent approval of two consecutive legislatures.


• Allowing alcohol consumption at racinos during all operating hours.

[Uncle B]

I was going to say i'd expect a big fight, because of fear of sudden crime surges, etc...but, looking over US stats, Delaware is actually a Hell of a lot more crime ridden than i'd ever mimagined.



Weird...i never seem to read or hear anything about Delaware and crime..