If Eagles Win, Delaware Loses $625,766
What’s a Super Bowl victory by the Eagles worth to the team’s Delaware fans?
It better be more than the sum in the headline, because that’s the difference to the state’s football wagering operation depending on the outcome. If the Eagles win, the state will pay out $354,465 to bettors who picked the Eagles to win it all this season, according to the Delaware State News. If the Patriots win, the state instead pockets $271,301.
As the story explains, the odds fluctuate throughout the season. The Eagles began the year at 28-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, eventually falling to 6-1. Given the hometown bias towards the Eagles, there’s probably nothing the state can do but hope the Birds don’t make the Super Bowl very often. No matter which team wins, it’s been a good year for NFL betting — the NFL sports book is currently up by about $9.7 million with only the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl left to go. Last year the state netted only $2.2 million on similar betting volume, so our oddsmakers must be getting better.
Dude!
Has there been any mention as to what Delaware will do if New Jersey wins there Supreme Court case? Would be nice to have full Vegas betting at Delaware park, and the 9.7 million would go up exponentially.
@D “Would be nice to have full Vegas betting at Delaware park…”
But there’s a large social price to pay for that. Be careful what you wish for…
The oddsmakers were much better this year than last. It took the Vikings miracle finish for me to break even for the season.
Isn’t the real question “Why is the state running sports betting in the first place?”
If the Eagles win the Super Bowl with Nick Foles at quarterback, what does that say about Chip Kelly, super-genius? 🙂
If the Vikings had won, I’d be rooting for Minnesota, but now I’m hoping that the Patriots win.
Mr Elite wrote:
I’m old enough to remember when only Nevada had legalized gambling. Then Jersey allowed casino gambling in Atlantic City, and the state made a scad of money off of it.
Finally other states saw the cash cow that legalized gambling could be, and it seemed like everybody wanted to get in on the action. We found out that spreading casinos around so widely made them all less profitable than states had hoped.
My grandparents, in California, used to save up to take vacations in Reno; when they ran out of money to gamble, they were done. Now, the casinos have ATMs, so you can keep draining your bank accounts. I’m libertarian enough to believe that people should be free to gamble if they wish, but in the long run, it’s almost always a bad idea.
Isn’t the real question “Why is the state running sports betting in the first place?”
I don’t think so, but I could be persuaded otherwise.
@D “Isn’t the real question “Why is the state running sports betting in the first place?”
It’s a tax on the stupid.
@D “I’m libertarian enough to believe that people should be free to gamble if they wish, but in the long run, it’s almost always a bad idea.”
But it’s regressive and exploitive. It destroys families and neighborhoods. The working class and the poor are targeted and they do pay the price.
Mr Elite wrote:
That’s true enough, but your answer begs the question: would you have the state ban gambling, either completely or partially?
I don’t think banning it would do anything but drive it underground like back in the good ole days but in my view the gambling/football nexus is some of the most vile and ugly legal activities in our culture
Having the state ban gambling would eliminate gambling no better than having the state ban abortion would eliminate abortion.
“Banning” something is code for “spending your money to criminalize behavior that will happen anyway.” The only difference in legalized gambling is that the cops can no longer take their cut from the illegal kind.
@D “That’s true enough, but your answer begs the question: would you have the state ban gambling, either completely or partially?”
I’m not big on banning, but we could mandate harsh lighting, dark gray wall paint, and 1940’s popular music at every gambling venue…