Online Gaming Doing Well in Delaware
Delaware is one of three states to permit regulated online gaming along with New Jersey and Nevada. Not much focus is on Delaware due to the state's relatively small population of approximately 900,000 residents.
The state, which is known as the "First State" as it became first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States on Dec. 7, 1878, also was the first state to to launch a full-scale regulated online gambling operation in November 2013, with Nevada launching regulated online poker before them.
Despite the small market size, regulated online gaming appears to be doing well in Delaware according to the latest figures released by the Delaware Lottery, which licensed three racinos, Delaware Park, Dover Downs, and Harrington Raceway, to operate on the 888poker platform.
The Delaware Lottery recently reported that the three racinos recognized $282,112 in total iGaming net revenue in May 2016, which established a new record for the state three months in a row. This also marks a big 248-percent growth from the $133,697 revenue recorded in May 2015 and a smaller gain of 5.3 percent from the $267,801 in revenue recorded in April 2016.
Delaware Park is currently the industry leader with $133,935 in net revenue (47.5-percent market share) shortly followed by Dover Downs with $118,182 in net revenue (41.9-percent market share). Harrington Raceway has failed to make the same inroads in the market with $29,995 in net revenue or just 10.6 of the total market.
Most of the revenue was generated from video lottery, which also established a new record of $187,548 in net proceeds that was set in March 2016 when the state generated $154,795 in net revenue. This also represented a 31.4-percent boost from the $142,736 in revenue recognized in April 2016 and a more substantial increase of 297 percent from the $63,118 in revenue recorded in May 2015.
Online poker also performed well last month with the three racinos, which operate on a shared online poker platform, reporting $40,337 or 16.1 percent higher than the $34,752 recorded in April 2016 and a smaller 2.8-percent increase from the $39,245 in revenues recorded in May 2015. The month is still far off the record set in April 2015 when the Delaware Lottery reported $48,552 in net revenue.
Despite the momentum in both video lottery and online poker, net revenue from online table games in May was significantly down. Last month, the three racinos reported $54,227 or 40 percent less than the $90,314 reported in April 2016 and 14.1 percent less than the $63,118 reported in May 2016. The record net revenue for table games was established in the early days of regulated online gaming in the state with $137,371 reported in April 2014.
Lead image courtesy of happeningmag.com.
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