SOURCE: Delawareonline.com

State Rep. Vincent Lofink, R-Bear, said Wednesday he plans to introduce a bill that would allow the Delaware Lottery to set up a state-run sports book, most likely at the state's three existing racinos. Armed with a new study showing that such an operation could bring at least $70 million to the state, Lofink said he'd like the legislation to hit by late next week.

Wednesday, his House Gaming and Pari-Mutuels Committee spent about 90 minutes reviewing the March study by Morowitz Gaming Advisors LLC for the state's Video Lottery Advisory Council.

Delaware is the only state east of the Mississippi River that can legally offer sports betting. It was not included in a 1992 federal law banning sports betting because, in the 1970s, the state ran a failed sports lottery. Although the game was stopped before the end of the 1976 NFL season, it was enough to keep the option alive here.

The advisory council commissioned the study to bolster its repeated efforts to take advantage of the loophole and give Delaware a powerful weapon in its gambling war with New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The issue has been debated here since late 2002, but has never gathered much momentum because of splits within the General Assembly and opposition from Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.

Lofink and Oberle see signs of hope because, in a letter to the committee, Finance Secretary Richard Cordrey said his department, which includes the Lottery, did not want to comment until it sees a bill.

But the study and any bill will face stout opposition from professional sports leagues, which supported the federal law. Jay Moyer, a special counsel to the NFL, said that, if legislation starts to move, the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball would make their presence forcefully known. During debate in 2003, the leagues prepared a legal brief questioning whether sports betting complied with the state's constitution. "We stand foursquare in our opposition," Moyer said.

William Latham III, former head of the Economics Department at the University of Delaware, questioned whether the Morowitz study is a valid basis for moving ahead. Latham, who was hired by the NFL to study the report, said the Internet polling that showed support for gaming was of questionable reliability and that the study's predictions of increased gaming and economic gain based on that polling were purely speculative.

But Ed Sutor, president and CEO of Dover Downs Inc. and chairman of the Video Lottery Advisory Council, said he believes the Morowitz study is valid.

"We picked [Morowitz] because they have a track record in the industry. ... They are widely respected," said Sutor, who also chairs the advisory council. "In 2003, we said competition was coming. It's here now and I can tell you that, up the road, it's hurting Delaware Park. If Maryland ever [authorizes slots] and we don't have something like this, it will hurt -- a lot."