NEW YORK - The U.S. Supreme Court Monday declined to hear Delaware’s sports betting case, ending the state’s push to expand sports wagering at its three racetracks.
Currently, Delaware conducts parlay betting, where gamblers place a wager on two or more teams. The state was looking to expand such betting to include single-game wagers. Nevada is the only state where gamblers can place single bets on sporting events.
Delaware officials estimated such a gaming expansion would have generated $50 million of annual revenue in future years.
The Supreme Court decision comes as the triple-A-rated state Tuesday plans to sell about $124 million of tax-exempt general obligation bonds that will refinance existing debt for present-value savings. The exact size of the deal will depend on market conditions, according to Stephanie Scola, director of bond finance in the Department of Finance.
Like Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana are exempt from a federal ban on organized sports wagering. Once Delaware lawmakers approved sports betting in May 2009, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association filed suit to stop the state from implementing sports betting.
On Aug. 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third District in Philadelphia ruled that allowing sports wagering in Delaware is a violation of federal law. The state then appealed to the Supreme Court. By declining to take the case, the high court leaves standing the appeals court’s decision.
The Supreme Court’s rejection could also affect a suit filed last year by New Jersey. Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, in U.S. District Court to overturn the federal gaming restriction in the Garden State. Lawmakers there are working on a bill that would allow voters to decide in November whether the state should conduct sports wagering.
