Delaware released its latest financial report for the sports betting and gaming industries in May 2023. The report reveals a significant drop in money wagered on sports in The First State. However, the online gambling industry recorded its highest spending this year.
The state's regulated bookies processed bets worth $2.8 million, a significant decrease of 45.1% from $5.1 million in May 2022 and a 17.7% dip from $3.4 million in April this year. The amount is the least recorded in the state since August last year.
Revenue-wise, the month's total revenue collected from sports betting was $245,474, a sharp decline of 50.5% from the previous year's $495,676. These numbers also mark a 34.5% decline from April's figure of $374,568.
Below is how regulated sports betting operators performed in May 2023:
Retail sports betting operators in the state generated an additional $30,986 from $375,695 in wagers.
As sports betting continues to post poor numbers in Delaware, United States, online gambling is on an upward trajectory. In May 2023, the number of gamblers who used to play online casino games was the highest this year.
In total, gamblers in Delaware spent $44.2 million on licensed casino operators, a rise of 38.6%. In May last year, the state recorded total gambling bets worth $31.9 million. Additionally, this is an 11.9% rise from the $39.5 million spent in April 2023. The breakdown of expenditures included $26.6 million used to play video lottery games and $17.5 million for online table games.
State income from casino games is $1.2 million, an impressive yearly increase of 9.1%. However, that's a 7.7% decrease from April 2023. As expected, the video lottery department brought in the most revenue at $976,880, followed by $216,554 from table games. Poker rake and fees generated another $38,318.
Surprisingly, Bally's Dover operator is leading in this category with the highest revenue of $457,240 after taking in $10.6 million in wagers. Delaware Park is second with $444,955 despite taking more stakes than Bally's Dover at $20.7 million. Harrington Raceway is third with $391,510 from $8.1 million in wagers.
Delaware Park led the iGaming market with $509,183 in gross income from $18.0 million in bets. Bally's Dover follows with $381,383 from $13.5 million, with Harrington Raceway collecting $341,185 from $12.7 million in bets during the month.
