Delaware to Allow Sports Betting Starting Next Week After Supreme Court Ruling

Delaware is set to become the first state to offer Las Vegas-style sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court ended a federal ban on the practice in mid-May when it starts accepting single-game wagers next Tuesday. 

On Thursday, David Purdum of ESPN.com reported Delaware, which previously allowed NFL parlay bets, will now allow full-scale betting at three of its casinos: Delaware Park, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino and Harrington Raceway & Casino.

Adam Liptak and Kevin Draper of the New York Times noted the country's highest court ruled the federal ban on betting, which was put in place in 1992, infringed upon states' rights.

"It is as if federal officers were installed in state legislative chambers and were armed with the authority to stop legislators from voting on any offending proposals," Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote in the decision. "A more direct affront to state sovereignty is not easy to imagine."

An estimated $150 billion in illegal bets were made in the United States each year despite the ban, according to the New York Times.

Although Delaware is set to fully legalize gambling on sports, bettors will not have the option to make wagers on games involving in-state teams, per Purdum.

"Delaware has all necessary legal and regulatory authority to move forward with a full-scale sports gaming operation, and we look forward to next week's launch," Delaware Gov. John Carney said. "We're hopeful that this will bring even more visitors into Delaware to see firsthand what our state has to offer."

Purdum also noted Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are among the other states "quickly" working through the process of following in Delaware's footsteps on the issue.