Dover Downs Casino to welcome players on Christmas, taking advantage of recent reforms in Delaware’s gambling law
For the very first time Dover Downs Casino in Dover, Delaware will be welcoming gamblers on Christmas, news emerged late last week. The property will take advantage of a recently passed bill that allows the state’s three casinos to remain open on Christmas and Easter.
Despite being allowed to receive customers on the major holiday, Delaware’s two other casinos – Delaware Park and Harrington Raceway have opted to close on December 25.
Dover Downs President and CEO Denis McGlynn told local media that the hotel portion of the property has about 350 rooms booked on Christmas. However, the official pointed out he is not sure how much business the gaming floor will do. He said that he thinks “it will be decent”, even though there is no way to estimate how much will be generated in revenue.
According to the official, hotel guests being able to gamble on Christmas makes sense. He clarified that they have customers of different origins and religions and some of them are not Christians. Mr. McGlynn went on to say that there have been complaints from their non-Christian guests about not being able to gamble while staying at the hotel on December 25.
Aside from the casino floor, other facilities at Dover Downs will, too, remain open for guests and visitors, including its restaurants.
Mixed Reactions
News about Dover Downs staying open on Christmas have been received with mixed reactions from customers of the property. While there were many who applauded the property management’s decision, there have also been negative comments on the matter.
Asked by local media what they thought, a number of players, including ones gambling regularly at Dover Downs, said that the casino being open on Christmas was wrong as it was a family holiday and people should not be encouraged to gamble on that day.
The state’s three casinos have long been pushing for a permission to operate on major holidays and their effort finally succeeded this past summer when Delaware lawmakers passed the so-called casino relief bill. Aside from allowing the state’s three gambling venues to operate on Christmas and Easter, the bill also contained provisions that reduced significantly the amount the casinos should pay in the form of tax revenue.
Dover Downs and its two counterparts will be saving around $16.8 million in revenue each year as a result from the legislative piece’s passage. The bill cut the slot machine and table game tax revenue rates by nearly a half. It also suspended the table gaming license fee operators were previously obligated to pay.
It has been a big year for Delaware’s gambling industry as it became the first state to launch full-scale sports betting following the landmark SCOTUS ruling from mid-May that wiped out the long-standing federal ban on sports gambling. Delaware’s all three casinos offer sports betting services. According to data from the Delaware Lottery, they generated revenue of nearly $6.8 million since full-scale sports betting started on June 5 until the end of November.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories.
