With the 2024-25 NFL season kicking off on Sept. 5, Delaware bettors had plenty of options for wagers last month, driving the "First State" to its best month for sports betting yet.
The Delaware Lottery has reported record-breaking handle and revenue figures for Sept. 2024. The total handle reached $23.2 million, surpassing the combined totals of July and August. At the same time, Delaware sports betting revenue reached an all-time high of almost $4.7 million, from a 20.1% hold.
Online wagering dominated, accounting for around $19 million of the total handle, all of which was wagered through the state's exclusive online operator, BetRivers.
Of the state's three land-based casinos, Delaware Park, one of the state's three land-based casinos where bettors are required to place online wagers, saw the highest handle of $13 million. Harrington followed with $4 million, while approximately $2.1 million was spent via Bally’s Dover.
The remaining $4.2 million was wagered in-person at the state’s three retail sportsbooks – Moneyline Sports Bar & Lounge at Delaware Park, Murphy’s Race & Sports Book at Harrington Raceway & Casino, and Bally’s Dover Race & Sports Book.
Year-over-year growth
Sports betting revenue soared 202.7% year-on-year, compared to the $1.5 million collected in Sept. 2023. For the entire 2023 calendar year, Delaware generated $65.3 million in total sports betting handle. The state has already more than doubled this total with $136.9 million wagered in 2024, despite results only going up to September so far.
The latest figures also bring the revenue total for the 2025 fiscal year above $7.5 million, after revenues of more than $1.7 million in July and $1.1 million in August. In comparison, the same three months last year combined for $2.3 million in revenue, with $1.5 million of that coming from September.
NFL betting boosts revenue
The NFL season, which runs from September to January each year, has consistently had a significant impact on sports betting activity across the U.S. In fact, the American Gaming Association (AGA) expects $35 billion to be wagered on this year’s NFL season, compared to $26.7 billion in 2023.
Last year, Delaware sportsbooks collected $2.3 million in January, then saw monthly figures drop below $500,000 until September (except for $626,371 collected in March). Then, revenue reached over $1 million for the final four months of the year, with October’s $3.8 million marking the highest total.
Delaware introduced legal sports betting in June 2018, only a month after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), allowing individual states to decide their own sports betting laws. Delaware remained true to its name, becoming the first state outside of Nevada to accept the first legal single-game sports bet.
Delaware was also the first state to legalize online casinos in 2013. The Delaware Lottery recently published the state’s iGaming results for Sept. 2024, revealing that wagers reached almost $170.7 million, resulting in $5.8 million in net gaming revenue from video slots and table games.
