The dealer and cards may be virtual but the players taking their seats at the blackjack ‘table’ are real. The three Delaware slots parlours have been given the go-ahead to install the Shuffle Master electronic blackjack, three-card poker and other games, following a decision by the state’s attorneys that case law supports the idea that games of chance can have an element of skill. Delaware law limits video lottery machines to games of chance.

With the very real prospect that neighbouring Maryland will introduce slots, and with the imminent opening of slots venues in Pennsylvania, Delaware made the decision to lease about 50 electronic machines from Las Vegas-based Shuffle Master. The machines have been designed to get around the ban on table games by substituting virtual images for the dealer and playing cards. Those gambling sit with other players, claimed to make a more sociable atmosphere, and play the same rules as in a live game. Random number generators shuffle six decks of electronic cards that are subsequently played in that order, just as in a real game.

Total lottery revenue in Delaware for the fiscal year to June 2005 was US$689 million, of which video lottery machines contributed US$575 million. 36% of this goes to the state general fund, so Delaware has an active interest in maintaining or improving slots revenue. In the way of the world, Delaware is already being pressed by gambling proponents to go one step further to keep ahead of the game, and legalise table games at its racetracks. (E-10.16.06)

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