Online casinos in Delaware have a claim no other state can make: they came first. The Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act was signed in 2012, months ahead of Nevada and New Jersey, and the first real-money games went live in November 2013. Delaware also dealt the first legal online poker hand in the United States.
What makes the state unusual is not just that it was early. It is that the state itself runs the operation. Delaware does not licence a field of competing casino brands. The Delaware Lottery contracts a single platform provider, and the state’s three racinos each put their own name on the front of that shared platform.
What makes the Delaware market different
Three things separate Delaware from the rest of the regulated group. The first is the ownership model, since this is a state-run system rather than a commercial licensing round. The second is scale: with fewer than a million residents, Delaware is the smallest regulated online casino market in the country. The third is the tax rate, which at 57 percent on online slots is among the steepest anywhere and shapes who is willing to operate here at all.
If you have been searching for DE online casinos, everything below applies to the same state-run market and the same three branded sites.
Are online casinos legal in Delaware?
Yes. Delaware legalised online casino gaming under the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act in 2012 and launched in November 2013, making it the first state in the country to do so. The Delaware Lottery runs the games itself through the state’s three racinos: Delaware Park, Bally’s Dover and Harrington Raceway. All three sites share one platform, currently BetRivers. You must be 21 or older and physically inside Delaware to play. Sweepstakes casinos are not authorised and have been pushed out by enforcement action.
How the law works in Delaware
Delaware did not write a standalone internet gambling act. It expanded the state lottery. The Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012, House Bill 333, authorised the Delaware Lottery to sell draw-game tickets online, build a statewide keno network, expand the existing football parlay lottery, and offer internet casino games through the state’s racetrack casinos. That framing matters, because it means online casino games in Delaware are legally a form of lottery product operated by the state.
Who regulates online casinos in Delaware
Two agencies share the work, and the split is unusual. The Delaware Lottery, which sits under the Department of Finance, operates and markets the games and handles revenue reporting. The Division of Gaming Enforcement, under the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, is the investigative arm: it handles licensing, conducts audits, investigates violations and issues enforcement orders.
In other states the regulator supervises private operators from a distance. In Delaware the Lottery is closer to a business owner than a referee, and the Division of Gaming Enforcement provides the independent oversight that separation normally supplies.
The video lottery agent structure
Delaware has no tribal casinos and no standalone commercial casinos. Its entire land-based industry is three racinos, hybrid racetrack and casino properties that hold what state law calls a video lottery agent licence. Those same three properties are the only routes to a legal online casino in Delaware.
- Delaware Park in Wilmington, the largest of the three
- Bally’s Dover Casino Resort, formerly Dover Downs, acquired by Bally’s Corporation in 2021
- Harrington Raceway and Casino in Harrington, the smallest
What the rules require
- Players must be 21 or older for casino games, though the lottery and horse racing allow 18
- Geolocation must confirm the player is physically inside Delaware on every wager
- Identity and age verification at account opening
- Games and systems approved under the Lottery’s internet rules and regulations
- Monthly revenue reporting published by the Lottery
The three licensed sites and the platform behind them
Delaware has three online casino brands, one for each racino. What the table below does not show at first glance is that all three run on the same software, draw from the same game library and share the same player pool. Choosing between them is closer to choosing a logo than choosing a casino.
| Online brand | Land-based property | Location | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Park Online | Delaware Park | Wilmington | BetRivers (Rush Street Interactive) |
| Bally’s Dover Online | Bally’s Dover Casino Resort | Dover | BetRivers (Rush Street Interactive) |
| Harrington Online | Harrington Raceway and Casino | Harrington | BetRivers (Rush Street Interactive) |
The platform switch that changed the numbers
For a decade the Delaware platform was supplied by 888 Holdings. That relationship ended and the Lottery announced Rush Street Interactive as its replacement, with BetRivers going live on 27 December 2023 under a five-year exclusive contract. The effect was immediate and large: monthly online casino revenue roughly quadrupled, and the state’s net proceeds for the 2025 fiscal year came in at $85.5 million.
That jump is worth understanding correctly. Delaware did not change its law, open its market or add operators. It changed vendors. The same three brands and the same monopoly structure simply started performing very differently with better software behind them.
Why there is only one operator
Because the state runs the games, the question is not which companies qualify for a licence but which single vendor wins the contract. Rush Street Interactive holds that contract through to the end of the decade. House Bill 365, introduced in 2024 and still moving through committees in 2025, would open the market to multiple operators and end the exclusivity. It has not passed.
For the full picture of how the licence itself works, what the Lottery and the Division of Gaming Enforcement require and how to confirm a site is authorised, see our guide to Delaware licensed casinos.
The Delaware market in numbers
Delaware is the smallest regulated online casino market in the United States, and the reason is arithmetic rather than policy. Fewer than a million people live in the state. New Jersey, thirty minutes up the road from Wilmington, has roughly nine times the population and more than twenty competing operators.
| Measure | Figure | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Law signed | 2012 | Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act, HB 333 |
| Online casino launch | November 2013 | First in the United States |
| Net proceeds, FY2025 | $85.5 million | Delaware Lottery, July 2024 to June 2025 |
| Total casino revenue, February 2026 | $45.47 million | Delaware Lottery monthly report |
| State taxes, February 2026 | $11.82 million | Delaware Lottery monthly report |
| Tax on online slots | 57 percent | Internet video lottery rate |
| Tax on online table games | 15.5 percent | Plus a 4.5 percent purse supplement |
One of the highest tax rates in the country
The 57 percent rate on internet video lottery games, which is what the state calls online slots, is the detail that explains most of Delaware’s market structure. Around 56 percent of gross gaming revenue from online slots and tables goes to the state’s General Fund, with the remainder shared between the racinos and the platform provider. Table games are taxed far more lightly at 15.5 percent, and both carry an additional 4.5 percent supplement that funds horse racing purses.
A rate that high makes Delaware unattractive to operators used to competitive markets, which is part of why opening the market has proved harder than simply passing a bill. Sports betting sits at 50 percent and has produced months where the state’s net proceeds were negative after commissions, vendor fees and purses were paid.
Where the money goes
Because this is a lottery product rather than a licensed private industry, the revenue split is written into the structure. The General Fund takes the largest share. The three racinos receive a portion, which is significant for properties whose land-based business faces competition from casinos in neighbouring states. Horse racing purses and the upkeep of land-based slots and table games take the rest.
Sweepstakes casinos and Delaware
Delaware never passed a sweepstakes law. It did not need one. Because the state constitution reserves gambling to the state lottery, anything offering casino-style play for prizes outside that structure is already unlawful, and the Division of Gaming Enforcement has simply applied the existing rules.
How enforcement played out
The Division issued a cease and desist letter to Virtual Gaming Worlds, operator of Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots, in February 2023. Enforcement escalated two years later. On 7 April 2025 the state announced that, effective 2 April, Delaware residents could no longer use VGW LuckyLand’s platforms at all.
The reasoning in that announcement is worth quoting in substance. Investigators concluded that the company had presented its product as a promotional sweepstakes while letting players buy coins for casino-style games that could produce cash winnings. The state found this violated three separate instruments: the Delaware Constitution, the Delaware Penal Code and the Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012.
The practical result
More than thirty sweepstakes platforms have withdrawn from Delaware following enforcement pressure, and industry trackers now list the state alongside Michigan, Idaho and Washington as one where the model is effectively closed off. Checking any major sweepstakes brand’s terms will show Delaware on the restricted list.
How this compares with other states
Connecticut criminalised sweepstakes gambling with a new statute in 2025, making it a felony. New Jersey passed a ban framed around civil enforcement. Michigan relies on its gaming board classifying the platforms as unlicensed gambling. Delaware sits in a fourth category: the state-run lottery monopoly made a separate ban unnecessary, because there was never a legal space for the model to occupy.
The Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Lottery have both been explicit about why this matters to players. Unregulated sites offer no oversight of withdrawals, no verified game testing, and expose users to fraud and identity theft with no recourse.
Player protection and responsible gambling
Delaware’s responsible gambling provisions come from the same lottery framework that authorises the games. Because the state operates the platform rather than supervising private operators, the tools are uniform across all three brands by design.
Tools available on the licensed sites
- Deposit limits set daily, weekly or monthly
- Wager and loss limits
- Session time limits and reminders
- Cooling-off periods that pause play without permanent closure
- Self-exclusion administered through the Lottery’s programme
- Permanent account closure
Where to get help
The Delaware Council on Gambling Problems operates a confidential helpline for residents, and the Delaware Lottery funds and promotes responsible gambling programmes as part of its statutory role. The national helpline on 1-800-GAMBLER also serves Delaware around the clock, free and confidential.
Support does not require closing your accounts first, and contacting a helpline does not trigger any automatic action against your account. If gambling has stopped being entertainment, BeGambleAware offers free confidential advice as well.
What state operation means for disputes
One practical consequence of the lottery model is that a complaint about a Delaware online casino is a complaint about a state programme. The Division of Gaming Enforcement handles investigations and compliance independently of the Lottery that runs the games, which gives players a route that does not depend on the operator investigating itself.
Games and payments at Delaware casinos
Because all three brands run on one platform, the game library is identical wherever you sign up. That is the clearest practical consequence of the state-run model, and it is worth knowing before you spend time comparing the sites.
What you can play
The catalogue covers slots, blackjack, roulette, video poker and a selection of table games, with live dealer content added since the platform change. The library is smaller than what New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Michigan players see, since a single vendor supplying one small state has less incentive to licence thousands of titles than a competitive market does.
Online poker deserves a separate note. Delaware dealt the first legal hand in the country, but a player pool drawn from under a million residents was never going to sustain busy tables on its own. Poker contributed just over fifty thousand dollars to the state’s FY2025 net proceeds, against fifty-eight million from video games.
Deposits and withdrawals
- Debit and credit cards, subject to issuer approval
- Online banking transfers and ACH
- PayPal and similar e-wallets
- Prepaid cards tied to the platform
- Cash at the cage at Delaware Park, Bally’s Dover or Harrington
The cage option is genuinely useful in a state this compact, since no resident lives especially far from one of the three properties.
Geolocation and account rules
You must be physically inside Delaware when you place a wager, and the platform checks this on every session. Residency is not the test, presence is, so visitors can play and residents cannot while travelling. The minimum age is 21 for casino games, though the state lottery and horse race betting allow 18.
How to choose between Delaware’s three casinos
This is the shortest version of this advice on any state page we write. The three DE online casinos share one platform, one game library and one player pool. There is no meaningful difference in the product.
What actually differs
- Which racino is closest, if you want to deposit or withdraw at the cage
- Whether you already hold a players club card at one of the three properties
- Promotional offers, which vary slightly by brand even on shared software
- Personal preference for the brand you recognise
What does not differ
Game selection, software, payout speed, licensing standing, responsible gambling tools and customer support all come from the same source. Comparing the three sites on those points is comparing the same thing to itself.
Signs a site is not licensed here
Any online casino that is not Delaware Park Online, Bally’s Dover Online or Harrington Online is operating outside the state framework. Warning signs include cryptocurrency as the primary deposit method, no reference to the Delaware Lottery or the Division of Gaming Enforcement, welcome offers far larger than a 57 percent tax rate could sustain, and any dual-currency or sweepstakes model.
Playing on an unlicensed site means no state oversight of withdrawals, no verified game testing, and no complaint route through the Division of Gaming Enforcement. The state has been unusually direct in warning that these platforms are a common vector for identity theft and payment fraud.
Latest Delaware gambling news
When did Delaware legalise online casinos?
Delaware signed the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act in 2012, months before Nevada and New Jersey, and the first real-money games went live in November 2013. That makes Delaware the first US state to legalise and launch online casino gaming, and the first to deal a legal online poker hand.
How many online casinos are there in Delaware?
Three branded sites, one for each of the state’s racinos: Delaware Park Online, Bally’s Dover Online and Harrington Online. All three run on the same platform with the same game library and the same player pool, so the choice between them is mostly cosmetic.
Who regulates online casinos in Delaware?
Two agencies. The Delaware Lottery, under the Department of Finance, operates and markets the games and publishes revenue reports. The Division of Gaming Enforcement, under the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, handles licensing, audits, investigations and enforcement. Because the state runs the games rather than supervising private operators, that separation is what provides independent oversight.
Why is Delaware’s online casino tax so high?
Because online slots are legally a lottery product in Delaware, they are taxed like one. The rate on internet video lottery games is 57 percent, with roughly 56 percent of gross gaming revenue going to the state General Fund. Online table games are taxed at 15.5 percent, and both carry an extra 4.5 percent supplement funding horse racing purses. That rate is among the highest in the country and is one reason the market has stayed small.
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Delaware?
No. Delaware never passed a sweepstakes-specific law because it did not need one: the state constitution reserves gambling to the lottery, so the model was never authorised. The Division of Gaming Enforcement issued cease and desist orders against VGW in February 2023 and again in April 2025, and more than thirty platforms have since withdrawn from the state.
Will Delaware open its market to more operators?
House Bill 365 would do exactly that, ending the single-vendor exclusivity and allowing multiple operators. It was introduced in 2024 and advanced through committees in 2025, but has not passed. Rush Street Interactive holds the current contract under a five-year exclusive deal signed in 2023, so any change would need both legislation and a contract expiry.
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