With little to no fanfare, Rush Street Interactive launched its online sportsbook in on Wednesday, Dec. 27.
Rush Street Interactive (RSI) has an exclusive contract with the Delaware Lottery to be the only sports betting and iGaming operator in the state. It reached the agreement this past August and took nearly six months to launch in the state.
Despite the contract with RSI, Delaware legislators may look into the expansion of sports betting and iGaming in the state following the recent submission of a report from the Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group.
BetRivers Now Live in Delaware
Rush Street Interactive was selected by the Delaware State Lottery as the lone vendor for the state s online gaming business. The contract was for an initial term of five years, renewable for additional one-year terms for an additional five years pending regulatory approvals.
The company replaced 888 as the state s sole vendor.
No official announcement was made prior to the operator going live earlier this week. Several Delaware customers began to post their surprise that the operator was live on social media late Wednesday and into Thursday.
The company confirmed to Sports Betting Dime that it was live on Thursday, Dec. 28.
There you have it. Confirmation that is live.
RLinnehanXL (@RLinnehanXl)
However, will RSI remain as the sole operator in the state moving into 2024?
Expansion to Multiple Operators
Members of the Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group recently submitted a to the Delaware legislature with a recommendation to expand online sports betting in The First State.
Members of the Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group pointed to the online sports betting models of neighboring states such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey as potential approached Delaware could consider. All three states feature online sports betting with multiple online sports betting operators that could provide Delaware with a “more competitive and economically thriving sports wagering market.”
The group was created through with an initial deadline of June 2023 to submit their report. After the group delayed their recommendations, the Delaware Lottery reached an with Rush Street Interactive in August to be its sole online and retail sports betting operator.
Within its final recommendations, the group recommended that Delaware expand its online sports betting to include multiple operators, which would contradict with the lottery’s current contract with RSI.
Multiple Operators Will Increase Revenue
The group suggested the following recommendations to the Delaware legislature:
Delaware needs to have an online sport lottery
Delaware needs to have multiple online sports operators
Delaware should provide for a tethered model with existing video lottery agents
Delaware should protect the horse racing industry and purse contributions
Delaware should provide additional resources for problem gambling
Within the recommendations, the group included revenue estimate from Eilers Krejcik. If Delaware transitions to a multiple operator system, the state could generate $30.7 million in sports betting tax revenue across its first five years, and $9 million per year after.
“It is quite clear that the absence of online sports wagering is detrimental to our revenue in Delaware when our surrounding states have online sports wagering. During our meetings, it was demonstrated that there have been many attempts to place online bets in Delaware. This is lost revenue for our state. It is also clear from our surrounding states that the use of multiple online operators creates a greater volume of wagering and online usage. It is our recommendation that online operators need to be tethered to our existing video lottery agents,” the group wrote in its final recommendations.
The recommendations will be considered by Delaware legislators during its upcoming session.
