The state government of Delaware wanted to make a splash when it came time to consider making online gambling legal, and it managed to do so by becoming the first state to pass such laws even though much larger states were considering the same idea. This claim to fame is nice for the state, but what does that mean for poker enthusiasts from the region? Not nearly as much as everything that has transpired since the first site went live for real money. Let’s dig into the Delaware online poker market.
How did we get to having regulated online poker in Delaware, anyway?
It all really starts back in the early 2000s, when online poker was introduced to the U.S. market. The growth of the game was fast, and after a few years, there were multiple sites that hosted tens of thousands of concurrent players. It seemed like people could not get enough of playing their favorite poker games online, and when players started to qualify for live events like the World Series of Poker, it became truly life-changing for many.
Unfortunately, all of this excitement was built on the backs of offshore-based poker sites that technically were not operating legally in the country. Ultimately, the massive growth and exposure of the business caught up with it, and in 2006 and again in 2011, actions were taken against these sites by the U.S. government. The majority of the sites were shut down or withdrew from the market, and just like that, players had no place to play.
This is when the states stepped in. The governance of gambling is a state-legislated issue (one of the reasons that New Jersey fought so hard for sports betting), and several states started to float the idea of regulating the games to take advantage of their popularity and to bring some tax dollars into the coffers of the state.
Delaware was one of the states at the forefront of this type of discussion, and on June 28, 2012, it became the first state to pass comprehensive online gambling legislation when HB 333 was voted into law.
It would take the state 18 months to weed its way through writing regulations and determining who would receive licenses, etc. In late November 2013, the first real-money bet was placed in the state.
So if it is legal, why aren’t all the sites back and running?
This is the question that many players across the country wondered, especially in Delaware. The fact is, many of the sites that were accepting players in the 2000s were deemed to be “bad actors” and as a result, were originally precluded from being part of the regulated environment. This, in combination with the size of the Delaware market and its ability therein to sustain multiple poker networks, made it unlikely to add any of the “OG” poker sites people knew and loved.
As part of the regulations in the 2012 law, only three online gaming licenses were awarded – one to each of the land-based casinos in the state. When it came time to choose a vendor, the Delaware Lottery – the regulatory body overseeing online gambling in the state -didn’t have to look very far. They chose to work with 888, who were already their provider for online lottery products. While critics argued that the selection process should have been more inclusive, the three sites all ended up on the 888 Network.
Wait, all the sites are on the same network? How does that work?
Yes, all three of the properties are on the same network. However, as each is its own individual casino, there is still some competition between the sites for players. While you can have accounts at each of the sites, you cannot log in to multiple accounts at once.
Also, all three of the sites feed into the same pool for liquidity purposes. The state has a small population, and as the players had to be ringfenced to the boundaries of the state originally, it meant that the games were very small and not always running. This did not add up to a great experience for players in Delaware – the same sentiment was being expressed in Nevada and New Jersey as well, where online poker had since been legalized. As a result, the three states entered into an agreement in 2014 that would allow for the sharing of player pools with the goal of provide better quality games and tournaments to players.
Why would I choose one site over another?
As we mentioned, the three competing poker sites available to Delaware residents – Dover Downs, Delaware Park, and Harrington Raceway – all offer different incentives to players to make deposits and play. Some of the offers that we look at when comparing the sites are as follows:
Deposit Bonuses – all the sites will give you a little something extra to make your first deposit and subsequent ones as well. These bonuses can range from tournament tickets to bonus dollars in your account which you can convert into cash. Depending on the type of player you are, one bonus may appeal to you over another.
Loyalty Programs – one major difference between the regulated online poker market and the grey market that used to exist is the ability for sites to leverage their physical properties to generate loyalty. If you like one casino over another and can earn rewards towards physical gifts at a facility with your online play, then you may gravitate to that site.
Freeroll Events – Tournament players, can get value out of the free tournaments that are held on an online poker site. These events can be restricted to players who are new to the site, or they can be open to everyone in order to generate more traffic on the site. Regardless, the play in these events tends to be a bit weaker than paid entry events, so there is value to a patient, above-average player who wants to grow their bankroll.
What games are available to Delaware poker players?
A benefit of all three Delaware poker sites being on the same network, and that network sharing liquidity with New Jersey and Nevada, is that there are far more games available to play at any given time.
Cash Games – these tables are open 24 hours a day across all the different game types, although No Limit Hold’Em is still the predominant favorite with poker players. You can join a cash table as low as pennies per hand, and the nice part about playing these games is that you can always reload if you lose your money, or you can walk away at any time.
Cash Tournaments – the most popular form of poker across the board, is tournament poker. Here, you get a starting stack of chips for your buy-in, but when you are out of chips (aside from rebuy events), you are eliminated from contention. Sunday afternoons have become legendary in the online poker world, as this is the time when most sites offer their largest events of the week. You can find tournaments with buy-ins ranging from a dollar to hundreds of dollars.
Satellite Tournaments – these events do not pay cash as a prize, rather they are used as qualifiers for other events. These events burst onto the scene when Chris Moneymaker won one on Poker Stars in 2003 that qualified him for the Main Event of the World Series of Poker…you know the rest of the story. Satellite events are now used as qualifiers for some of the larger buy-in events in an online poker site’s tournament schedule, expanding the field from just those who can afford the large entry fee.
Are there still offshore sites taking action from Americans?
When the Department of Justice shut down the three sites dominating the unregulated U.S. poker market in April 2011, it seemed like the end of the story. However, there are a handful of offshore-based sites that were left alone, and to this day, those sites continue to take action from American players. However, there is typically a big issue trying to get money to these sites, and given that they operate outside any legal boundaries, you will have no assistance from any governing body if you have an issue with your account. Although these sites continue to be an option, players in Delaware can play legally with excellent software and great promotions, so we don’t see any reason for adding any more risk.