As the sports betting industry throughout the United States continues to put up huge numbers, the state of Delaware saw some impressive October figures as well. The October sports betting numbers represented a nice increase from September, and the state has also performed much better year-over-year.
Delaware reports its total sports betting handle as “Amount Played” and that number was $17.1 million in October. $8.9 million of that total came from the three retail sportsbooks in the state, while the other $8.2 million came from retailers. 
This is a 37% increase from the September totals, and it is a 6% increase from the October 2019 numbers. The biggest change last month was the amount of money brought in by the retailers as a number of those locations are finally back open for business.
Delaware Park Leads the Way
There are just three retail sportsbooks up and running, and William Hill provides all of the betting data at these locations. Delaware Park was the clear leader during October, which is a common occurrence in the state.
Delaware Park posted a total sports betting handle of more than $4.8 million last month, and revenue was almost $830,000 at that location. The total handle and total revenue reported at Delaware Park was actually higher than the other two locations combined.
Harrington Raceway had $2.2 million in handle and a little more than $390,000 in total revenue last month. Dover Downs reported a total sports betting handle of $1.7 million while posting a net revenue of $288,000.
iGaming Industry Seeing Decrease
Even though the sports betting industry saw a huge increase during October, the same cannot be said for the iGaming industry. Delaware allows online poker and other online casino games, but that industry saw a decline in net proceeds in October.
Net proceeds in October were down more than 23% from the previous month, although the state did see almost the same amount of action. The decrease in revenue was attributed to a successful or “lucky” month for players in the state, which could turn back around during November.
The total net revenue from online gaming and internet poker was just $644,000 during October. The previous month, Delaware posted a net revenue of $840,000 combined from these two industries.
Still No Mobile Betting
Delaware was actually the first state to launch sports betting after the US Supreme Court decision, but the industry has not taken off as it has in other states. This is in part because Delaware has yet to launch mobile sports betting.
Delaware state law has legalized online or mobile sports betting, but the state has yet to make any real moves in that area. The state is leaving money on the table by not yet launching that form of betting, and bettors are traveling to nearby states to place their wagers.
