Delaware hits record sports betting sales in September

With the 2024-25 NFL season beginning on September 5, bettors in Delaware had plenty of betting options last month, giving the First State its best month ever for sports betting.

The Delaware Lottery has reported record-breaking winnings and sales for September 2024. Total winnings reached $23.2 million, surpassing July and August totals. At the same time, sports betting revenue in Delaware reached an all-time high of nearly $4.7 million from a 20.1% share.

Online betting dominated, accounting for about $19 million of total revenue, all 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 that require bettors to place online bets, recorded the highest bet of $13 million. Harrington followed with $4 million, while about $2.1 million was spent through Bally’s Dover.

The remaining $4.2 million was wagered personally 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-on-year growth

Sports betting revenue increased 202.7% year-over-year compared to the $1.5 million collected in September 2023. For the entire 2023 calendar year, Delaware generated a total of $65.3 million from sports betting. The state has already more than doubled that total with $136.9 million deployed in 2024, although results so far only extend through September.

The latest figures also show that total revenue for the 2025 fiscal year is over $7.5 million, following sales of more than $1.7 million in July and $1.1 million in August. By comparison, the same three months last year combined for $2.3 million in revenue, with $1.5 million of that coming in September.

NFL betting increases sales

The NFL season, which runs from September to January each year, has consistently had a significant impact on sports betting activity across the United States. In fact, the American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates that $35 billion will 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 monthly numbers fell below $500,000 through September (excluding the $626,371 collected in March). Revenues then reached over $1 million in the final four months of the year, with $3.8 million in October representing the highest total.

Delaware introduced legal sports betting in June 2018, just a month after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), allowing individual states to set their own sports betting laws. Staying true to its name, Delaware became 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 released the state’s iGaming results for September 2024, showing that wagering reached nearly $170.7 million, resulting in net gaming revenue of $5.8 million from video slots and table games led.

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