Supreme Court Turns Down Del. Over Sports Betting

The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from Delaware to expand its sports betting lottery beyond professional football.

The justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place a federal appeals court ruling that limits sports betting in Delaware to multi-game, or parlay, bets on National Football League games.

The professional sports leagues and the National Collegiate Athletic Association sued the state over its plan to boost revenues by offering single-game bets on a variety of professional and amateur events in the new sports lottery.

The lawsuit claimed the betting would violate a 1992 federal ban on such wagering and the federal appeals court in Philadelphia agreed.

Delaware was one of only four states exempted from the 1992 law by virtue of a failed 1976 lottery that featured parlay bets on NFL games. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state's lottery must be restricted to a scheme similar to that of the 1976 lottery, namely multi-game wagers on professional football.