Delaware’s total 2020 sports betting revenue fell significantly year-on-year mainly due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to figures from the Delaware Lottery, the state’s total sports betting revenue for 2020 amounted to $8.4m a significant 32.8% year-on-year decrease.
The figures also show that bettors in the state wagered $57.6m on sporting events between January and December 2020, down from the $102.6m wagered in 2019.
The total number of bets placed on sporting events also fell from 2.5m in 2019 to 1.3m in 2020.
The impact of Covid
Delaware’s betting market was hit incredibly hard by the coronavirus pandemic throughout 2020.
Sportsbook operators were forced to suspend operations for more than four months between March and July due to state-wide restrictions intended to soften the impact of the virus.
As Delaware only permits in-person land-based sports betting and all venues in the state were closed for four months, bettors were unable to legally bet during the period.
Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway reopened their sportsbook facilities in July while the Delaware Park sportsbook reopened in August.
How each venue performed
Although Delaware Park was closed for the longest period of time in 2020, it managed to lead the state’s sports betting market with $4.5m in revenue from $31.3m in bets. The venue’s 2020 revenue was down 42.3% on 2019’s while handle was down from $64.1m year-on-year.
Harrington Raceway took second place in 2020 after generating $2.1m in revenue, which was slightly down from the $2.2m generated in 2019. The facility also saw handle slip to 21% year-on-year to $13.9m in 2020.
Dover Downs came in third place after processing $12.4m in bets and generating $1.8m in revenue. Handle for the venue fell 22% year-on-year while revenue dropped by 30.8%.
December’s figures
In the final month of 2020, Delaware’s sports betting market managed to generate $1.1m in revenue from $8.8m in wagers. Handle was down 33.8% year on-year while revenue dropped 31.3%.
Delaware Park took first place in December after processing $5.4m in bets and holding onto $681,708.
Harrington Raceway took second place with $237,915 in revenue from $1.9m in bets. Dover Downs lagged behind with $205,052 in revenue after bettors spent $1.5m at the venue.
