Delaware Casinos Online
As the second smallest state in America, Delaware chocked the country when they paved the way for casino gambling online. They were the very first ones to legalize state-based online casinos in 2012. It hasn’t been much of a success though. These gambling sites are only generating a rough $3 million yearly revenue, whereas land based casinos in Delaware bring in approximately $550 million.
But this doesn’t mean that online gambling isn’t wide-spread in the blue hen state. What it means is that people who prefer the convenience of internet gambling are indulging in it at off-shore casinos as opposed to the state based online casinos in Delaware. Why? Because the quality standards of these off-shore casinos are simply much, much higher. On the following page we have made a comparison illustrating this.
To help you find the perfect online gambling experience we have also gathered some of the very best online casinos in Delaware and conveniently listed these for you. In addition, we’re taking a look at the legality of risk-taking in the state and its gambling history. We have also created a valuable beginner’s guide to internet gambling and answered a bunch of important questions.
Best online casinos in Delaware listed and reviewed
The below casinos sites have been cherry-picked by us for providing an overall exceptional gambling experience.
[sc name=”casinos-us-short”][/sc]Frequently asked questions about the above listed casinos
How do I know that I can trust these gambling sites?
We have thoroughly played at all of the online casinos that we recommend to guarantee that the experience is smooth with all that it entails. We’ve had long conversations with the customer support to get a feel of their expertise and requested cash outs to make sure that these are fast and simple. We have also made careful background checks of the companies and ticked off a security list including RNG approved games and SSL encrypted websites. In addition to this, you will find that all of the gambling sites that we are listing have a great reputation among American players.
Can I get loyalty rewards and good will bonuses?
You can indeed. Some of the gambling sites are running loyalty programs that allow you to reach higher loyalty levels the more you play and the higher the level the better the rewards will be. Not every casino has an official program like this though. At some of the sites you’ll get contacted by a VIP-representative as soon as you’re considered a valuable player. You can also speak with the customer support yourself and ask for a good will bonus. If you’ve been loyal to the site and have recently been unlucky you’re likely to get some form of compensation.
Am I able to bet on sports and eSports?
You may not be able to do it with all of the gambling sites that we are recommending as some of them are pure casinos. We can, however, assure you that you can with many of them as we ourselves love betting on sports. Thus we have included several sites that offer a huge selection of odds on more than 20 traditional sports and all of the most popular eSports.
How can I deposit and withdraw?
Deposit methods generally include the following ones:
| Debit cards | Bitcoins | Wire Transfer | Person to Person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction time: | Instant | Up to 2 hours | Up to 5 days | Up to 3 days |
Withdrawal methods generally include the following ones:
| Bitcoins | Wire Transfer | Check by Courier | Person to Person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction time: | Up to 2 hours | Up to 5 days | Up to 10 days | Up to 5 days |
Will I experience any fees on deposits and withdrawals?
This will vary from one gambling site to another, but unless you’re using bitcoins, which are almost always free from any type of fees, it’s very common to experience a fee on deposits. Debit cards do for instance tend to come with a fee of 4% – 5% of the deposited amount. For withdrawals you usually don’t have to pay any fees. There are, however, a few exceptions to the rule.
What types of bonuses are offered?
All in all you’re able to find the following ones:
| Deposit bonuses | No deposit bonuses |
|---|---|
| These offers will instantly give you extra money when making a deposit. A 100% bonus up to $100 will for instance give you $50 extra if you deposit $50 or a maximum of $100 extra if you deposit $100 or more. | Here you'll get a couple of free spins on a slot or a small amount of cash for free. This bonus can either be offered as a reward for signing up an account with a casino or be received as a good will bonus for being a loyal player. |
| Refer a friend bonus | Free spin bonuses |
| Some of the best Delaware casinos that we are recommending will reward you if you get your friends or anyone else to play with them. They need to sign up and deposit using a special link found under your account settings. If they do you'll receive some bonus cash. | These offers come in many different variations, but the basics are that you'll receive a certain amount of free spins on a slot machine. In other words, you'll spin on the slot for free and get to keep all of the winnings that are generated. |
| Cashbacks | Live casino bonuses |
| With cashbacks you’re able to have some of your losses returned to you. It may for instance be that a cashback promotion of 20% is running during the weekend. Should you lose a total of $100 you would then receive $20 back the following Monday. | These bonuses are tied to the casino's live dealer games and can be quite interesting. You may for instance find special cash cards added to the blackjack tables or be rewarded with an extra high cash prize for winning on a certain number while playing roulette. |
| Lottery draws | Competitions |
| Here you'll have a chance to win various prizes. It can be cash, exotic trips around the world or electronic gadgets like smartphones and tablets. You'll gather lottery tickets by playing games and at the end of the promotion winners are randomly drawn. | Like lottery draws these bonus offers give you a chance to win various prizes, but here you got to compete against other players on a leaderboard. It may be as simple as the person wagering the most money during a certain period of time being the winner. |
How often are bonuses offered?
No matter which of our listed gambling sites you choose to play at there’s always one or several promotions running. That’s part of the reason why they’re the best online casinos in Delaware. We know how valuable promotional offers are and would never recommend a gambling site with a poor selection of them.
Will I be able to download a mobile app?
With some of the casinos you will, but most of them actually don’t have any mobile apps developed at the moment. Their websites are, however, fully responsive to all types of devices. You can, in other words, play in your web browser and get just as good of a mobile experience as if you were playing on a desktop computer or if you were using an app.
How can I reach the customer support?
You’re able to reach them on live chat, e-mail and phone 24/7.
Is it possible to play games for free?
It is indeed. With the exception of live dealer games all casino products can be enjoyed with demo credits as long as you’re signed into an account.
How do I gamble at online casinos in Delaware?
Internet gambling is super smooth. It’s much more convenient than visiting a land based casino. It doesn’t take many minutes getting started and only a few more to understand everything you would possibly need to know. The entire experience can be summarized as the following:
Choosing a site | Creating an account | Using bonuses | Depositing money | Gambling | Cashing out | Customer support |
We have thoroughly covered all of these topics below.
Choosing a casino to play at
While all of the best Delaware casinos that we have recommended are great choices they do have some differences between them. Before choosing a site you may want to check out a couple of them just to find that perfect match of yours. We all have different preferences, but you may want to ask yourself the following:
- Is the site offering live casino games (roulette and blackjack played against real dealers)?
- Will I experience any fees on cash outs with the withdrawal method that I intend to use?
- In addition to casino gambling, can I bet on sports and play poker against other players?
Other than this we would just go with the casino offering the welcome bonus best suited for you.
Creating a casino account
To be able to play online all casinos require you to create a personal account. This is a simple process that includes providing some details about yourself such as name, date of birth and home address. What’s crucial about this step is that you provide the correct details as these will be verified at a later stage and it’s definitely not allowed to sign up fake accounts. This will get you in trouble.
Taking part of bonus offers
As you may or may not already know it’s incredibly common to find bonus offers at casinos; especially at those that we are recommending. These bonuses are generally great to use as they will increase your long term chances of winning. It doesn’t matter if the bonus is giving you extra money on a deposit or if it’s a lottery draw. Your long term chances of winning will increase either way.
Important to know about bonuses is that they always come with terms and conditions. This is basically a fine print and full description of the offers. Here you can read about things such as:
- What you need to do in order to activate the offer
- If there’s a minimum deposit required
- If there’s a wagering requirement
- If any games are excluded from the bonus
To avoid any unpleasant surprises you always want to read through these terms and conditions. It is for instance common for deposit bonuses to have a wagering requirement. This means that a certain amount of money has to be staked before your bonus and winnings can be withdrawn.
Funding your account with money
If you’ve ever made a purchase online you’ll be familiar with the deposit process – it’s basically identical. All you have to do is to head to the cashier at the casino; choose your preferred deposit method and enter the amount you would like to deposit. However, make sure to pay attention to bonus offers or any field that says bonus code. With some gambling sites your welcome offer (and also other bonuses) is activated when making a deposit and sometimes a code is needed for it.
Enjoying the gambling experience
This is the best part. Once your account is funded you can start playing any games you’d like to for real. Should you like to try them for free you can, however, do so as well with the vast majority of games. You’ll get the freedom of choice when choosing to play them.
No matter the product you’re looking to enjoy it’s all very simple. No software is needed to be downloaded, but all games can be instantly played in your web browser. They contain all of the rules and pay tables that you need to fully understand their mechanics and potential rewards.
While all games have different pay out percentages one of the best things about playing at off-shore based online casinos in Delaware is that it’s always high. Most slots have an RTP of 96%, which is noticeably higher than the RTP offered at land based gambling venues.
Withdrawing your winnings
The process of cashing out is pretty much identical to the process of depositing – with one exception. All legitimate online casinos require you to verify your account before any withdrawals can be handled. This means that you are asked to upload a photo copy of a valid ID to your account – for instance a passport or driver’s license. If you want to be proactive this can of course be done the very moment that you create your casino account.
The verification process exists to prevent duplicate accounts; underage gambling and fraud. Once you’ve uploaded the ID to your account this will be reviewed by the casino’s risk department within 48 hours or so. If everything is fine your withdrawals will be processed as soon as possible and for any future cash outs they will be handled much more smoothly.
While a photo of an ID is the most commonly requested verification document, it should be mentioned that you may be asked to provide other documents as well. This is quite rare though.
Getting help from the support
Should you ever need help with anything – and we really mean anything – you will find a friendly customer support ready to assist you at all of the best Delaware casinos that we have suggested. They are available 24/7 and can be conveniently reached on a live chat. Just hit them up and they’ll answer any questions you may have or even provide you with a personalized bonus.
Is it legal to play casino online in Delaware?
It depends on the gambling site that you’re playing with. Since 2012 state-based online gambling is legal. This means that you are allowed to play at all government approved online casinos that are operating within the state of Delaware. As of now you are, however, not allowed to play at any other gambling sites. This does of course include off-shore casinos that are operating from outside of America.
What happens if I play at an off-shore casino?
Most likely nothing at all. While it isn’t legal to do so the vast majority of Delawareans that gamble online are in fact playing at off-shore casinos as the state-based casinos are mediocre at best. So far we haven’t heard of anyone getting in trouble with the law for doing so.
Most American states don’t care about single individuals gambling online, but are only interested in shutting down casino operators that are illegally running businesses within the state. The same seems to be the case with Delaware.
A brief look at the history of gambling in Delaware
1760: This year saw the first racetrack opening in what would eventually become the state of Delaware. While gambling wasn’t officially offered, a lot of betting was still taking place. Not only betting, but lotteries were also wide-spread.
1787: When Delaware received it’s statehood in 1787 all types of gambling were eventually banned.
1933: In an attempt to stimulate the economy after the great depression pari-mutuel betting on horse racing is legalized. The Delaware Racing Commission is created to oversee the activities.
1937: Delaware Park opens up – this racetrack is still operating today – now also a casino.
1957: Bingo games are legalized for charitable purposes and the Bingo Commission is formed.
1974: A state run lottery program is introduced.
1981: The Delaware Gaming Control Board (now known as the Division of Business and Professional Regulation) if formed to oversee all types of gambling in the state.
1996: This year saw the first video lottery machines (slots) appearing in Delaware.
2009: Sports betting and table games become legal.
2012: Delaware becomes the first state to legalize state-based online casinos. Organizations are required to apply for a license to operate.
2013: Online casino licenses are given to the three land based casinos in Delaware; Harrington’s Race, Dover Downs and Delaware Park.
A comparison of state-based online casinos and off-shore casinos
As we’ve already mentioned the state-based online casinos in Delaware aren’t doing very well and if you ask us it is because of their low quality standards. There are three gambling sites operating in the state which are all using the very same platform provided by 888 holdings. This means that a part from design the casinos are all identical to each other and equally mediocre.
To illustrate the difference between the state-based online casinos and gambling sites that are running outside of America, we have made a brief comparison below.
| State-based online casinos | Off-shore based online casinos | |
|---|---|---|
| Able to play from: | Delaware only | Anywhere |
| Amounts of games: | Around 200 | Around 200 |
| Live dealer games: | No | Yes, several |
| Types of casino games: | Blackjack, Roulette, Slots | 3 Card Poker, Baccaract, Blackjack, Caribbean Stud, Craps, Keno, Lucky Wheels, Pai Gow, Red Dog, Roulette, Slots, Video Poker |
| Sports betting: | No | Yes |
| Poker platform | Yes | Yes |
| Payment methods: | ACH, Mastercard, Visa | Bank Transfer, Bitcoins, Mastercard, Person to Person, Visa |
| Customer support: | 24/7 on e-mail and phone | 24/7 on live chat, e-mail and phone |
| Age requirement: | 21 | 18 |
| Withdrawal times: | Up to three business days | Usually up to 48 hours (weekends included) |
This comparison was made with Delaware’s three online casinos and the online gambling site Tiger Gaming on the 8th of June 2020
As you can see there’s a much poorer game selection, no chat support, slower withdrawal times and fewer deposit methods at the state-based gambling sites. Their designs are also terrible as they look like something you would find in the early days of the internet era.
It’s clearly better to be playing at any of the best Delaware casinos that we have recommended, which are operating from outside of America. These are just as safe as these are also regulated – just not by a commission in Delaware but by an organization in another jurisdiction.
Land based casinos in Delaware
In difference to the state-based online casinos in Delaware you have three fantastic options to visit if you’re looking for a land based gambling experience. It’s a bit odd since these land based casinos are also the ones that are running the casino operations online. The experience is, however, like night and day. Playing land based you will find a huge game selection and the highest level of quality.
| Casino | City | Address | Slots | Table games | Poker tables |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Park and Casino | Wilmington | 777 Delaware Park Blvd | 2300 | 63 | 25 |
| 3 Card Poker, Blackjack, Cajun Stud, Casino Hold’em, Craps, High Card Flush, Keno, Pai Gow, Roulette, Spanish 21, Sports Betting | |||||
| Dover Downs Hotel & Casino | Dover | 1131 North Dupont Highway | 2300 | 41 | 18 |
| 3 Card Poker, Baccarat, Blackjack, Cajun Stud, Casino Hold’em, High Card Flush, Pai Gow, Roulette, Sports Betting | |||||
| Harrington Raceway & Casino | Harrington | 18500 S Dupont Hwy | 1800 | 42 | 10 |
| 3 Card Blitz, 3 Card Poker, 4 Card Poker, Big Six Wheel, Blackjack, Cajun Stud, Casino Hold’em, Craps, Pai Gow, Roulette, Spanish 21, Sports Betting | |||||
FAQ about gambling and casinos in Delaware
How much revenue is Delaware making from gambling?
The yearly revenue from all gambling activities is approximately $1 billion. From this $150 million is generated in tax profits. While the revenue is quite high for a tiny state like Delaware almost nothing is coming from the state-based online casinos. Unfortunately we don’t have any recent numbers, but from 2014 – 2017 the online gambling revenue looked like the following:
2014: $1.4 million
2015: $1.8 million
2016: $2.8 million
2017: $2.4 million
In comparison the state run lottery program generates about $450 million a year and the land based casinos in Delaware approximately $550 million.
Who is allowed to operate an online casino in Delaware?
Anyone who has applied for and have had a license approved by the Division of Business and Professional Regulation is allowed to operate a state-based online casino. As of 2020 the only three organizations that have gotten their application approved are, however, Harrington’s Race, Dover Downs and Delaware Park. In other words, the businesses that are running the three land based gambling establishments in Delaware.
How old do I have to be to gamble in Delaware?
At 18 you are allowed to play bingo, partake in lotteries, bet on horses and play poker at charitable events. You are, however, not allowed to play poker at the casinos.
To visit the casinos there’s an age requirement of 21. This is for the land based casinos as well as the state-based online casinos.
When it comes to off-shore casinos – such as any of the best Delaware casinos that we have listed on top of the page – the age requirement is 18.
Can I play at online casinos from anywhere?
With those gambling sites that are operating outside of America you can. The state based ones do, however, require you to be in Delaware. These sites are using a GEO-tracking software that looks up your IP to make sure that you are situated in the state. If you aren’t you can still login to the casinos, but you can’t play any games.
What’s the reason for playing at off-shore casinos?
There are many good reasons playing at off-shore casinos as opposed to gambling at the state-based sites. For most people the most appreciated reason is having a much wider game selection. Not only can you bet on sports and play tons of table games that aren’t offered at the state-based casinos. You can also find live dealers games, which include blackjack and roulette played against real dealers through a live video stream.
In addition to this it’s much more convenient to reach the customer support as you can chat with agents directly on site 24/7. You’ll also find more banking options and a bit faster withdrawal times.
What lotteries are available in Delaware?
You can find the following ones:
– Keno
– Powerball
– Hot Lotto
– Mega Millions
– Multi Win Lotto
– Play 3
– Play 4
– Lucky For Life
In addition you are also able to buy different types of scratchers.
Do slot machines pay more online than in land based casinos?
We don’t know about the slots offered at the state-based online casinos, but if we compare the slots at off-shore casinos with the slots at the land based casinos in Delaware they do indeed pay more. In the state’s criminal code – chapter 48, paragraph 4805 – one can read the following:
“Payout from video lottery machines, provided that such payouts shall not be less than 87% on an average annual basis, and further provided that video lottery agents may return a payout greater than 87% but not greater than 95% upon 10 days written notice to the Director, and further provided that video lottery agents may, with the approval of the Lottery Director, return a greater payout percentage than 95%”
We don’t know how common it is that games get approved to have a higher payout percentage than 95%, but statistics show that the average payout from Delaware’s land based casinos is around 92%. And this is with table games included which should bring up the numbers considering the fact that these have higher average RTPs (blackjack can for instance reach 99.50% if played optimally).
The vast majority of slot machines offered by gambling sites, including the best Delaware casinos recommended by us, have a payout percentage of 96%. It’s about as rare to find a slot with an RTP lower than 95% as it is to find a slot with a higher payout percentage than 97%. Your long term chances of winning are in other words better online.
What charitable games can be offered in Delaware?
Charitable organizations are allowed to offer bingo games, run raffles, host poker tournaments and set up casino nights with a couple of card and dice games such as blackjack. It is, however, not allowed to offer slot machines, roulette, craps or baccarat. A permit is also required which can be obtained online from the Division of Professional Regulation.
Can I play at Nevada-based gambling sites in Delaware?
Yes. Since 2014 Delaware has a gambling compact with Nevada that allows residents of Delaware to play at the state-based online casinos that are running in Nevada.
Are home games of poker legal in Delaware?
They are probably not. The law says that all types of gambling are illegal, which is then followed by several exceptions that allow lotteries, state-based online casinos, etc. Social gambling, which includes home games of poker, is, however, not added as an exception. This tells us that gambling in private is illegal even though Delaware is an incredibly liberal state.
As long as you keep your game to a low profile and don’t profit from it by charging any rake it is, however, unlikely that the police will care even if they know about it. We only know about one incident from 2008 where a poker game was busted and this is no wonder. The host was not only profiting from rake but was also offering sports betting and had topless waitresses serving alcohol.
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