Chris Boline
From the moment Delaware sports betting became legal, it’s really set things off for the rest of the United States. Keep in mind that Delaware became the first state in U.S. history to take advantage of the Supreme Court ruling and make sports betting legal for all of its citizens. However, Delaware sports betting handle in January took a big dive from 2021, which was rough.
According to multiple reports, the sports betting handle for Delaware last month was $8.4 million. Normally that wouldn’t be too much to be worried about for such a small state, but it’s important to remember that Delware was smoking hot last January. Indeed, in 2021, January’s betting handle was at $11.7 million. This was a monster victory for the state and the officials.
With Delaware, it’s of course never going to be a betting giant like Nevada sports betting, New York sports betting or any of the other giants out there. People still can’t believe how successful New Jersey betting has been, with the Garden State constantly putting up huge numbers. With that said, Delaware has still performed quite well for its size.
The numbers from last month do sting a bit. Not only that, it was announced that the state had reported a 55.6% drop for sports betting revenue in January as well. As for the total numbers, sports betting participants won a total of $765,092 last month, while they had placed a total of 228,828 wagers. That’s a whole lot of action that people took advantage of, but it’s still not meeting expectations.
Delaware sports betting handle down 28.2% year-on-year in January https://t.co/ZZuF8TY0Q9 pic.twitter.com/7JgGBU0bIr
— iGB North America (@iGBNorthAmerica) February 22, 2022
Total bets in Delaware also suffered a decline
For folks in the state, the total bets in Delaware also suffered a decline which was also disappointing to see. According to a report from Delaware, the betting for January was down 19 percent from last year. Everyone had assumed that things would be able to stay on the rise for the state’s betting, but the opposite was true. This was also surprising with the NFL playoffs in action.
All over the states, the NFL had massive betting coming on. Over in Nevada, the state set a record for Super Bowl bets earlier this month too. With that said, there was also a high number of playoff wagers being placed too. This should never come as a surprise, as the NFL truly is king in the sports betting world. So, what in the heck happened with Delaware? That’s completely unknown.
You’d think that the total wagers wouldn’t drop, especially with the different mandates being lowered because of the pandemic. Had this been in the middle of COVID wreaking havoc, then it would make sense to see some lower numbers out there. With the NBA in action too, plus all the soccer odds being checked for the different tournaments, no one expected this kind of a dip.
Again, these stats in the heart of the NFL playoffs really has to be concerning for the betting officials in the state. If this trend continues next year as well, which people are hoping won’t be the case, then some studies will most definitely need to be done. For now, though, Delaware is hopeful that things can bounce back in a positive way. So, what could help Delaware sports betting as a whole in the near future?
March Madness should help Delaware recover with its sports betting
While the recent numbers were a bit of a disappointment, there’s no denying that March Madness should help Delaware recover with its sports betting drop that was suffered this January. In case you weren’t aware, college basketball season is massive in the Northeast and this is 100 percent the case for Delaware. With the state not having pro teams, college sports is massive for everyone to enjoy.
With this, the NCAA tournament is always going to bring a huge following and have people check out the NCAA basketball odds whenever they’re up. For the Big Dance this year, the favorites are Gonzaga, Kentucky and Arizona. All three blue bloods are in the mix each and every season, with 2021-22 not being any different. So, which team will end up winning it all and take down the massive field?
𝘕𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵. https://t.co/XUP0VHKxoz pic.twitter.com/6ThTjmMbzd
— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) February 21, 2022
We’ll find that out soon enough, but you already know that Delaware sports fans are already checking out the odds and prepping their wagers. According to the best rated sportsbooks, Gonzaga holds the top odds at +400, while Arizona has been set with +750 NCAA championship odds and Kentucky is also at +750. Leading up to the first game, those odds should stay right around there for folks to look at.
With Gonzaga, people really are hoping this is the year that Mark Few can get the Bulldogs over the top. Last season, GU made it to the final and they were considered big favorites going up against the Baylor Bears. However, Baylor got off to a hot start and then ended up taking down Gonzaga. It was a letdown for them as a whole, but countless people believe in them for 2022. This includes Delaware residents.
