Possible breach of contract
Delaware Lottery Director Helene Keeley has warned that its exclusive online gaming partner, Rush Street Interactive, could sue the state finance department-run body for breach of contract should Delaware pass an expanded iGaming bill.
end RSI brand BetRivers’ statewide monopoly
Delaware lawmakers are considering a bill to allow six sports betting operators to enter the mobile wagering market in a move that would end RSI brand BetRivers’ statewide monopoly of the vertical.
According to a media source, BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel expressed interest in Delaware market entry at a legislative hearing.
RSI and the lottery, however, inked a contract in August that made the former’s BetRivers app the only legally approved online gaming platform in Delaware. At the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States conference, Keeley questioned the fairness of giving the likes of FanDuel a slice of the market, while also ostensibly inviting a suit from RSI.
“If I were BetRivers and the state passed this, I would say I want to look at our contract because it’s not feasible for us to operate like this,” the source cites Keeley as stating.
Firmly-held beliefs
RSI’s contract with the lottery is for “iGaming with an option for sports,” Keeley stated. She added the Delaware Lottery wasn’t “100% sure” it would pursue mobile sports betting “until the vendors came in and presented.”
Now that mobile sports is back in the conversation, Keeley hasn’t forgotten the fact that the big-name sportsbooks circling again previously eschewed applying for the exclusive license awarded to RSI.
“They didn’t bid on it. How is that fair to let them in now?”
The lottery head used photocopier brands to question the fairness of allowing DraftKings, BetMGM, or FanDuel’s Lexmark to muscle in and make changes to a market held by RSI’s Canon, considering the big guns’ previous lack of follow through on the bid.
“To change the law to allow two copier companies to do business with the state rather than one, how is that fair?” Keely asked.
I don’t think we need other online sports betting options.”
The Delaware Lottery Director is big on citing the “constitutional responsibilities” behind her taking an aggressive stance against an expanded iGaming bill. Keeley stated that given Delaware’s small population of one million: “I don’t think we need other online sports betting options.”
The lottery exec also cited a fiscal report that estimated allowing multiple mobile sports betting operators in would lose the state lottery revenue of approximately $3m. Keeley said that the current iGaming model with RSI “fits into what our constitution says my responsibility is, which is to make the most money for the state as possible.”
Opportunities cited
Keeley is rallying against an expanded bill despite HB365 stalling in the Appropriations Committee this year, courtesy of the lottery’s opposition. She does, however expect the bill back before lawmakers in January.
Two Delaware lawmakers filed HB365 in 2024 and also co-chaired a task force that determined the state “should have an online sports lottery with multiple operators or skins.”
Reps. William Bush and Franklin Cooke’s task force feedback cited Eilers & Krejcik figures that Delaware could generate over $9m in annual tax revenue from a competitive mobile sports betting market.