Delaware Lawmakers Clear Online Gambling

Delaware's legislature passed a law that could make the state the first to open its population to a full range of legal online gambling, including Internet blackjack, poker and slot games.

The bill is expected to be signed by the state's governor and comes in the wake of a Justice Department legal interpretation last year that allowed states to authorize Internet gambling within their borders. Delaware's move marks a significant step in the long-running debate between the U.S. government, states and gambling companies over whether and how online gambling will become legal in the U.S. It is also likely to help spur legislatures and lotteries in other states to legalize or implement Internet gambling, a long-predicted change that is taking more time to materialize than some observers expected.