SOURCE: Associated Press

(Dover, Delaware) — A bill legalizing sports gambling in Delaware was introduced in the state House today—one day after Governor Ruth Ann Minner vowed to veto such a measure.

The bill directs the state lottery office to establish a sports lottery that would allow wagering on both professional and collegiate events, with the exception of those involving a Delaware college or university. It has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

The sports lottery would be offered only at the state's three existing horse track slot-machine casinos.

Supporters of the measure say it could boost state revenues by $70 million a year and help ease economic losses from gambling in nearby states, given that more than 70 percent of Delaware's slot-machine revenue comes from out-of-state residents.

Critics, including Minner, fear the social ills it could bring.

The bill takes advantage of Delaware's exemption from a 1992 federal law banning sports gambling. Delaware is one of four states, along with Nevada, Montana and Oregon, that were grandfathered in under the federal law.