by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Jun 29, 2012 | Updated on Jun 29, 2012There’s no doubt about it now: online poker is coming to Delaware. That’s the news out of the state after Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed the Gaming Competitiveness Act into law on Wednesday, authorizing the state’s lottery to offer poker and other table games online.The signing came less than a day after the legislation passed through the Delaware State Senate. Despite a short delay before voting, the bill was approved in the Senate with a modicum of room to spare, as the vote was 14-6 with one abstention. The vote was somewhat closer than it appeared, however, as the bill needed to pass with at least a three-fifths majority.The signature by the governor did not come as a surprise. Governor Markell was one of the major supporters of the bill, and had pledged to sign the bill should it reach his desk.The bill makes Delaware a leader of sorts in American online gambling. While Nevada had already passed legislation that will allow for online poker in that state, Delaware will also allow a number of other table games to be offered online, and will also sell lottery tickets over the internet.The biggest question about Delaware’s online gambling system will be whether there will be enough players in the state to support an online poker room. While other casino games simply need a few players to become profitable, online poker rooms require a regular stream of players to fill tables and keep interest in the games high. In the industry, this is often referred to as “player liquidity,” and some question whether Delaware’s population of just over 900,000 can provide that.To counter this issue, Delaware lawmakers say that would like to enter into interstate compacts to increase the size of the online poker population. Possible partners that have been mentioned include other small states like West Virginia and Rhode Island, as well as New Jersey, which is pursuing its own online gambling legislation.
