Online Gambling Being Considered in Delaware, Massachusetts

Delaware and Massachusetts become the latest states said to have an interest in legalizing online gambling

Lawmakers in Delaware are weighing their options for legalizing online gambling in the state.   The news came Monday February 6, 2012, just days after Massachusetts lawmakers announced that they too were mulling over legalization of such games on the Web. 

The First State’s relatively small size and population do not make it ideal for intrastate online poker, however, a pooling system between states could eventually be on the table, something akin to Powerball perhaps. 

Delaware is reacting to news that the US Justice Department last month decided it will no longer apply a dated Wire Act to poker or casino games.

From Delaware Online: 

If legal questions are resolved, Delawareans could soon be buying lottery tickets online and betting in virtual poker rooms that pool players from other states or even other countries. The state's renewed focus on the possibilities of Internet gambling could also mean that those within Delaware would be able to place bets on pro football online.

"Obviously, this is an historic ruling and we are, at this point, exploring our options," said Delaware Secretary of Finance Tom Cook, whose department includes the state's lottery office.

"Other forms of Internet gambling, like Internet poker, can be legalized and the states could agree to have interstate or even international pools of players," said gambling attorney I. Nelson Rose.

Meanwhile, a Treasury-led panel has been set up to explore the potential for online gambling in Massachusetts.  Those appointed to this panel include Joseph Sullivan, mayor of Braintree and former Lottery director; Kate Cook, director of Cabinet affairs for Gov. Devel Patrick; Beth Boland, a member of the Massachusetts Lottery Commission; Mal Salter of Harvard Business School; Tom Herman of Smith & Duggan LLP; David Fubini of McKinsey & Company; and David Murdoch, executive vice president of Honey Farms Inc.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com