Delaware vows to fight Maryland expansion

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002 | 9:48 a.m.

BALTIMORE -- Maryland politicians who support legalizing slot machines have predicted that gaming will help ease the state's budget crisis by recovering much of the cash now wagered by the 1.2 million Marylanders who visit Delaware casinos each year.

But Delaware lawmakers say they'll fight to retain their Maryland customers by launching a gambling expansion that could eventually include legalized sports betting and a floating casino on the Delaware River.

"Once you're in the gaming business, quite honestly, you have competition to think about," said Delaware state Rep. William Oberle Jr., who backs a plan to allow professional sports betting. "Given what we're hearing from Maryland, we have to be concerned."

Many of Maryland's most ardent gambling foes say a regionwide casino expansion could be one of several unforeseen consequences of permitting slot machines here.

West Virginia lawmakers have voted to increase the number of slots they'd allow at their tracks and have started permitting them in bars. And Pennsylvania's political leaders are calling for machines at four horse tracks there, fearing that the state will be left behind if Maryland acts first.

"The Maryland Legislature is playing with fire," said Valerie Lorenz, director of a Baltimore inpatient treatment center for compulsive gamblers. "All the casinos need is a foot in the door, and we will never see the end of them."