Court Blocks Delaware’s Sports Betting Plan

(CN) - The 3rd Circuit struck down Delaware's plan to allow single-game sports betting, saying it violated a 1992 federal ban on the practice.

The Philadelphia-based court ruled that Delaware's sports lottery would violate the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The law limited sports betting to four states, including Delaware, that allowed such betting from 1976 to 1990.

The NCAA and four major sports leagues challenged Delaware's plan, saying sports betting would injure their reputations and expose young people to gambling.

After a two-hour hearing, the three-judge panel found "no factual issue with respect to the merits in this case" and ruled that the planned lottery violates the law.

The panel added that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail at trial, which is set for Dec. 7 in Delaware's federal court.

Delaware planned to launch single-game betting by Sept. 1, in time for the start of the NFL season. Delaware will now have to settle for multi-game "parlay" betting, the only type of betting the state allowed in its first sports betting venture in 1976.

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