Guide to Delaware Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

Delaware has a history as one of the leading states for legalizing forms of gambling. Being the first state to legalize online gambling in 2013, paving the way for racino style gaming in the 90s, and being one of the first states to legalize pari-mutuel horse race betting in 1933.

In this page we will outline and give insight into all current legal forms of betting in the state, and the legal Delaware gambling age required to participate in each. We will also pass on our insight into any current or potential future legal developments in the DE state legislature regarding gambling.

In the table above we have included each of the legal gambling ages in Delaware.. As you can see from the table above, all forms of popular wagering are currently legal in Delaware making it one of the most liberal states in the US in terms of gambling laws.

In the sections below we will go into further detail about each of the gaming activities and outline the legal gambling age required to participate in Delaware. We will also give a brief history on each form type of gaming, its current legal status and any future legal developments.

Casino Age in Delaware

Delaware has a long history of supporting gambling within its state, which includes land-based casino gambing. Under the state constitution the Delaware Lottery Commission regulates and controls the states three racinos – racing tracks that also include casino games. Unlike many other US states there are no tribal land casinos operating within Delaware, only the three commercial racinos.

To gamble at any of the three racinos players must be 21 as this is the Casino Age for Delaware. The racinos offer a wide variety of classic casino card games such as black jack, roulette, baccarat and poker alongside slot machines and electronic gaming machines that allow players to place sports bets and purchase lottery tickets.

The minimum casino age in Delaware is set to 21, similar to other forms of gambling in DE. The second reason the casino age is also most likely set to 21 is because this is the legal drinking age in the US, and all three racinos serve alcohol on their premises.

What are The Casinos In Delaware that Accept 18 year Olds?

There are no casinos in Delaware that accept 18 year olds. While Delaware is liberal in legalizing many forms of gambling, the state generally requires individuals be 21 before they undertake most form of legalized gambling including all racinos in the state.

18 year olds shouldn’t be discouraged though, there are still forms of gambling they can enjoy while in The First State. Residents and individuals visiting Delaware are able to participate in the state lottery, play Bingo or play Daily Fantasy Sports which are all legal in Delaware for those over the age of 18.

Sports Betting In Delaware

One area of gambling in which Delaware has been leading the way for years is in sports betting. Where in many other US states sports betting has severe restrictions placed on it, Delaware has taken a very liberal approach. Sports betting has existed in limited forms within Delaware for decades, with it being one of only four states grandfathered in under the 1992 sports betting ban – this grandfathering allowed Delaware to continue with limited parlay football betting after federal laws banned horse betting as a whole.

In 2009 Delaware attempted to legislate for full-scale sports betting, but as this was contrary to federal law it was challenged and struck down by the federal Court of Appeal. However, in 2018 the Supreme Court overturned a previous ruling that outlawed sports betting, paving the way for all US states to legislate its legality within their own state legislature. As Delaware already had the framework in place post 2009, in 2018 it became the first state to legislate for legal single game sports betting.

In order to participate in land-based sports betting individuals have to be 21 years or older. This age limit is in place because single game sports betting can only be undertaken onsite at one of the three state racinos. Other parlay bets can be placed on state collegiate football at around 100 licensed sports betting locations across the state, but these bets are also limited to those over the age of 21.

Another instance of where Delaware has been a leading force in sports betting is in pari-mutuel horse racing, which has been legal in the state since 1933. The first racetrack was built in Delaware in 1937 and since then onsite pari-mutuel betting has been legal to those over the age of 18. There are no off-site betting operators within Delaware and therefore all pari-mutuel bets have to be placed at the racetracks themselves.

Delaware Online Gambling Age

Another area in which Delaware has been incredibly progressive in the gambling front is in online gambling. In 2012 Delaware became the first state in the US to pass legislation that legalized online gambling. This legislation stipulated that the online gambling age for Delaware is 21 years old, the legislation also limited the online operators to the operators of the three racinos in operation within Delaware.

It took until 2014 for the three racinos to open their online casinos for real money games, but since then residents of Delaware have been able to enjoy casino classics such as poker, black jack, roulette, baccarat, slot machines and more from within the comfort of their own homes.

Sports betting online is also legal within Delaware and has been since 2018, however no online operators have set up shop yet. The reason no operators have set up shop within the First State yet is because there are no specific clauses within the legislation outlining who can operate online sports betting, and what the taxes and regulations will be applied to the operators.. So, while many other state neighbors surrounding Delaware are surging ahead fully embracing online and mobile sports betting, Delaware is lagging behind and most likely missing out on a lot of state revenue.

Residents of Delaware who are hell bent on placing sports bets online might attempt to do so by using offshore websites. However, we would advise against using any offshore websites as these are not regulated within the US and therefore any individual who engages with them will not be covered by consumer protection laws. Those Delaware residents who really want to place sports bets online are best placed to do so by crossing state lines to New Jersey, where there are several online sports betting websites and mobile apps in operation.

Online Poker Gambling Age

As a part of the 2012 legislation legalizing online gambling online poker was legalized. Online poker games are offered by all three of the online sites operated by the three Delaware state racinos. As with all online casino games, players need to be 21 years or older to play.

One area in which Delaware has diversified online poker is by joining together with other US states Nevada and New Jersey to offer inter-state poker tournaments. These tournaments have been in play since 2015 and allow players from each state the opportunity to get involved with a wider range of tournaments and gain access to higher jackpots.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily Fantasy Sports is another form of legal gambling in Delaware. In 2017 Delaware became the 14th state in the US to legalize Daily Fantasy Sports for those over the age of 18 by enshrining its legality within the state legislature. Delaware legislated for Daily Fantasy Sports legality, as after a few years of confusion as to its legal positioning, it was decided that it was in fact a game of skill not a game of chance.

The state was also likely keen to legislate for Daily Fantasy Sports legality as it also allowed the state to place hefty fees on Daily Fantasy Sports operators. These fees are a $50,000 operational fee per annum alongside having to pay Delaware state 15% of the revenue generated by the state’s players. This has meant that the only two operators large enough to operate in Delaware are FanDuel and DraftKings.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in Delaware

Delaware has had a legal statewide lottery since 1974. The legal age to play the lottery in Delaware is 18, and residents can purchase lottery tickets at over 100 registered retailers across the state. The lottery is run by the Delaware Lottery Games , and offers a wide range of games some of which such as powerball and mega millions have paid out to winners individual winnings of over $100 million.

In 1994 legislation was passed that allowed the three racinos in Delaware to offer video lottery onsite. The next logical step would have been for Delaware to offer an online lottery when online gambling was legalized in the state in 2013, however the First State is yet to take this next step.

While federal laws continue to remain grey in regard online gambling as a whole, residents of Delaware might be stuck waiting until there is a clear interpretation of the Federal Wire act before an online lottery is made legal in Delaware.

Delaware Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

Gambling laws in Delaware are governed by the state’s constitution, specifically the Crimes and Criminal Procedure Title, which is enshrined in Title 11 of the Delaware state legislature. Gambling under this title is defined as ‘recording or registering bets or wagers, or directly or indirectly betting or wagering money or anything of value’, under Title 11 gambling is an illegal offence in Delaware.

One interesting quirk of Delaware state legislation is that, as mentioned above, Title 11 expressly outlaws ‘gambling’ but allows for lotteries that are ‘under state control for the purpose of raising funds’. While there is no definition for ‘lottery’ included in the definition section of the state constitution, it has been interpreted by law makers to include online gambling, table games, lottery, electronic gambling machines and sports betting, and therefore these forms are all able to gain legality within Delaware.

The current gambling market in Delaware is somewhat healthy. With the three racinos in the area making a $658 million economic footprint and supporting over 5,000 jobs gambling is an important form of state revenue – in fact the taxes produced by the gambling industry provide the fourth largest form of state funding in Delaware. However, with an increase in legalized gambling forms across neighboring states such as Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey, Delaware has noticed a drop in income over the past few years.

There are taxes applied to gambling winnings within Delaware which vary on the form of gambling being undertaken. Daily Fantasy Sports and any lottery winning above $5,000 will be subject to federal taxes at 25% and 24% respectively. Further some casino operators might apply additional taxes to any large winnings in their institutions to cover ‘administration costs’. All other gambling winnings are subject to personal income tax and individuals will be charged tax on them at their personal income tax rate.

Delaware is currently one of the most liberal states in the US in terms of gambling laws. With the majority of both land-based and online gambling legalized Delaware offers a plethora of betting options for residents and visitors to the First State alike.

With state neighbors surrounding Delaware opening up new forms of gambling over the past few years, Delaware based gambling operators have been losing a lot of business across state lines. In 2017 neighboring state Pennsylvania introduced legislation that legalized the construction for 10 new casinos and online gambling amongst other things. Further, in 2018 casinos re-opened in Atlantic City, this coupled with moves from other neighboring states to legalize additional gambling methods has been putting a massive squeeze on Delaware’s three racinos.

While there were positive boosts in revenue when sports betting was introduced in 2018, the fact that there are still hurdles in place limiting the introduction of online sports betting operators means that Delaware is currently losing out on additional tax revenue to neighboring states, who do have the online sports betting infrastructure in place and fully operational.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that this page has provided a good introduction to the state laws and legal Delaware gambling ages.. If you still have questions that need answers we have pulled together some answers to the most frequently asked questions below. For other state guides, head over to our USA gambling age guide.