The NFL’s regular season kicks-off this week and once again Delaware State Lottery is taking bets on games.
Lottery Director Vernon Kirk said Delaware has seen a steady increase in sales since the state started taking parlay bets on NFL games in 2009.
The 2015-2016 season was no different. The lottery saw 200,000 more bets placed than the previous year - 2.7 million in all - with $39 million wagered.
It’s a trend that Kirk expects will continue.
"I would guess that maybe we’ll do something between $41-42 million in wagers this year," Kirk said.
That 5% increase won’t necessarily translate into more revenue for the state, he said.
Even with fewer bets placed during the 2014-2015 season than last year, the state wound up with more revenue two years ago, about $6.7 compared to $5.5 million in 2015-2016.
The reason? Luck. More underdogs pulled upset wins, increasing the payout to betters.
Kirk said that’s just a part of the game.
