Betting Sports seems a sure gamble

Betting Sports seems a sure gamble

By CRIS BARRISH
The News Journal
The early line is in on Delaware sports betting and other gambling-related legislation the Markell administration is pursuing.
The picks:
• Sports betting looks like a lock to be operating by the fall at the state's three racetrack casinos.
• Getting the casinos to give more of their revenue to the state also appears to be a sure thing.
• Facing long odds, however, is Gov. Jack Markell's gambit to have up to 10 sports betting parlors and authorize three new casinos.
The picks aren't coming from Las Vegas oddsmakers, but from the players who will decide the issue: members of Delaware's General Assembly. In interviews with leaders of both parties and nearly a third of all Delaware lawmakers, there was a general consensus on what would likely be the outcome of the three prongs of Markell's proposal.
"They went for the whole tamale, but in reality, they are going to get something much smaller," said state Rep. Joe Booth, a Georgetown Republican.
Even Sen. President Pro Tem Thurman Adams, who doesn't often tip his hand, agreed that sports betting and a bigger share of revenue for the state are likely, but new gambling venues are not.
Markell is keenly aware of the sentiment among lawmakers and has adjusted his sights accordingly, chief of staff Thomas McGonigle said.
The governor's office is already working with some on a compromise bill that would retain these elements of the original: restrict sports betting to the so-called "racinos" and increase the state's share of slots revenue.
But in a new provision, Markell wants to charge a total of $4.5 million in annual licensing fees to be split among the racinos that conduct sports betting.
Markell also would drop the provision for sports betting parlors and new casinos, for now. "I'm still hopeful we're going to get something through that works and relates to the additional venues. People want to take a little more time. The substitute bill would give us some time to study."
The bill would set up a group to study the possibility of expanding gambling further, including the addition of table games such as blackjack, McGonigle said Friday. A report would be issued by year's end.
Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf recently said he would introduce the new bill containing the provisions outlined by McGonigle.
Racino officials, who opposed the original bill, said they would fight against the compromise. Lobbyist Robert L. Byrd, who said he spoke for the state's three racinos, said the new bill was "more onerous" financially than the original and also left open the possibility that new casinos could be authorized by next year.
Should the measure pass, it would generate about $7.5 million in additional revenue from the new slots revenue formula for the financially ailing state in the fiscal year that ends June 30, McGonigle said. For the next fiscal year, Markell is forecasting at least $55 million in additional revenue from sports betting and the new revenue formula for a state facing a projected $750 million shortfall in fiscal 2010.
"The most pressing matter right now is to enact sports betting with a new revenue split and that really needs to get done fast," McGonigle said. "But the governor has heard the concerns raised regarding the new venues and does believe we need a careful approach, though he does believe it is something we need to pursue."
NCAA, NFL threats backfireBy indicating they are poised to approve sports betting, lawmakers are rejecting pressure from both the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Football League, which are both lobbying hard against the proposal.
The NCAA threatened to prohibit Delaware colleges from hosting tournament games in any sports. The NFL's commissioner has charged that sports betting in Delaware would threaten the game's integrity and suggested the league might pursue legal action to stop it.
More casinos 'a hard sell'
Markell's bid to authorize new casinos and dot the state with sports betting parlors, however, has not caught on with lawmakers.
In recent two public hearings, casino workers and executives complained that new competition would hurt their operations and lead to layoffs. Denis McGlynn, chief executive at Dover Downs, said in an interview that Delaware's casinos aren't even using up their current allotment of slot machines because there isn't enough demand.
Lawmakers said that for now, they are satisfied with the three casinos: Dover Downs, Delaware Park and Harrington Raceway. And they want to confine legal gambling to places where it is already practiced.
In recent years, several developers have proposed putting a hotel and casino on Wilmington's riverfront. Last month, a group proposed putting a casino in Millsboro. Rep. Booth said some have talked about operating a casino boat downstate.
"I think that with casinos, there is a saturation point," he said.


Betting Sports seems a sure gamble