The country’s major sports associations filed a complaint today in U.S. District Court in an attempt to block sports betting in Delaware.
The General Assembly passed a bill to allow sports betting this year, which Gov. Jack Markell then signed into law May 22.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit — the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Collegiate Athletic Association, National Football League and National Hockey League — allege that the sports betting “impermissibly expands Delaware’s existing State Lottery Act … by allowing head-to-head and single-game betting within the State of Delaware on all professional and amateur sports.”
The complaint contends that the law “was enacted despite considerable uncertainty over its legality” and further states that only parlay betting involving three or more football games existed under Delaware’s 1976 sports betting “scheme.”
“Sports lotteries involving single-game betting threaten the integrity of professional and amateur sports and are fundamentally at odds with the principle — essential to the success of MLB, the NBA, the NCAA, the NFL, and the NHL — that the outcomes of professional and collegiate athletic contests much be perceived by the public as being determined solely on the bases [sic] of honest athletic competition,” the complain states. “Sports leagues have consistently opposed legalized sports gambling in other states and at the federal level because sports betting undermines the public’s faith and confidence in the character of professional and amateur sports.”
In March, Markell, who is named as a defendant in the complaint as well as Delaware State Lottery Office Director Wayne Lemons, asked the Delaware Supreme Court to provide an advisory opinion on the legality of sports betting, however the court declined to issue and opinion until the legislation was signed.
Following Markell’s signing of the bill, the court’s justices unanimously concluded May 28 that sports betting is a legal “lottery” under Delaware’s constitution, but did not address single game bets, only “parlay” bets, which require a bettor to pick the outcomes of several contests.
According to Joe Rogalsky, the governor’s communications director, the administration asked the NFL to sit down and discuss their concerns, however, “They decided instead to sue,” he said.
“Delaware’s sports lottery will help pay for our core government services like our teachers and police and will also create new jobs in our state. That’s our focus,” Rogalsky said. “We asked for and received a Delaware Supreme Court advisory opinion prior to moving forward to ensure we are in compliance with state law.”
Sports betting is permitted in Delaware, Nevada, Oregon and Montana. Those states are grandfathered in under the 1992 federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which outlawed sports betting, because each state had some form of legalized sports betting when Congress passed the legislation.
Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, one of the three Delaware racinos that would host sports betting, has no comment on the lawsuit, according to Lisa Butler, public relations specialist.
Email Maureen Raitz at maureen.raitz@doverpost.com.
