Delaware recently marked two years of online gaming operations that have not lived up to early expectations.
The state’s three racinos, Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway were allowed to launch online gaming sites with the help of Scientific Games, WMS Interactive and 888 Holdings.
According to information compiled by Realmoneyonlinecasinos.com, Delaware was slow to come out of the gate with technology glitches playing a role in the early going.
In the beginning, players had trouble logging on to the sites due to geolocation issues. The tracking software had glitches that made it difficult to determine where a player was located, essentially locking them out of the online casino and poker games, the report indicated.
Players also had issues with making deposits based on financial institutions leery of online gambling
Early on, it was estimated that Delaware would earn close to $5 million a year. The state has barely made $3.5 million in the past two years, the study indicated.
Even Nevada and New Jersey had predicted that they would earn massive amounts of cash in the first few years and have not been able to do so.
One big factor is Delaware’s population since gaming is limited to residents of a given state.
One possibility for growth would be for states to sign agreements.
Delaware and Nevada did sign an online poker agreement that would allow residents of both states to play on one platform.
However, Nevada, while more heavily populated than Delaware, is not a major population center in the nation.
The lack of revenues also limited advertising that casinos use in more heavily populated states like New Jersey.
Meanwhile, online poker revenues continue to lag. The website PokerUpdate.com says online video lottery (slots) revenue has been growing, with poker revenue hitting an all-time low in October.
Another factor could be online sports fantasy leagues that lure players with promises of big payouts.
Delaware does have parlay betting fo some pro football games, but is barred from allowing bets on individual games.
