Dover Downs Online Review (CLOSED)

Editor Update: Dover Downs Online has closed. BetRivers Casino is now the only legal online gambling option in Delaware.

Bally’s Dover (formerly Dover Downs) has been in operation since 1969 and received authorization to offer online casino games and poker in 2013 after the Delaware legislature approved online gambling.

Dover Downs rebranded as Bally’s Dover in 2021 but continued to offer online gambling under its old name. Up until its permanent closure in late 2023, Dover Downs Online offered casino games and poker to players 21+ and physically present within state boundaries at the time of access whether or not they maintain a permanent residence in Delaware.

The Delaware Lottery oversaw three online casinos, each associated with one of the state’s three race tracks: Bally’s Dover, Delaware Park and Harrington Raceway. All three were powered by software developed by 888 Holdings and were legal in Delaware until their closure.

An account with Dover Downs Online provided access to two major types of gaming:

  • Online Casino: Dover Downs Online Casino offered a collection of slots and table games that could be played online at the Dover Downs website or through the mobile apps offered for iOS and Android devices
  • Online Poker: The Dover Downs online poker room hosted cash games and tournaments 24/7 at a wide range of stakes. Player traffic was fairly low, but player-sharing agreements with other states including New Jersey and Nevada resulted in improvements on that front.

Bally’s Dover Sports Betting

Bally’s Dover legalized in-person sports betting in June 2018 and now accepts wagers on all the major pro sports of the world. This includes major North American sports such as baseball, football, basketball and hockey in addition to international sports such as soccer. The sportsbook also accepts wagers on auto racing, MMA, golf, boxing and more.

Dover Downs Online Casino Review

As was the case with all Delaware online gambling sites before the lottery dumped 888 in favor of Rush Street Gaming, Dover Downs Casino had prominent pros and cons.

Pros

  • Legal and Licensed: Dover Downs was a legal online gaming site authorized by Delaware gaming law. Playing here was expressly legal and there were no concerns that you were violating the law by playing online.
  • Regulated by the State: Dover Downs Online was headquartered in Delaware and subject to state regulations. This added a measure of safety because players knew this site would not simply close shop and disappear with your funds. Such guarantees do not exist at unlicensed, offshore gaming sites.
  • Online Casino and Poker: A single account with Dover Downs granted access to casino games and person-vs-person online poker.
  • Casino was Compatible with Most Devices: Dover Downs Casino was offered in two formats – instant play at the website and via mobile app.

Cons

  • Limited Game Selection: One of the biggest ongoing issues that plagued Dover Downs Casino from the beginning was a limited game selection. Over its entire lifetime, the online casino only offered a collection of about 45 slots and 2 table games.
  • Poor Software: For desktop users, the only way to access the games was through the instant play casino located at the Dover Downs website. The interface was low quality in terms of design, navigation and functionality – it looked and felt like it was designed in the 90s. However, the mobile app offered a significantly improved experience.
  • Lax Technical Security Standards: Dover Downs was safe in terms of the business being legal and licensed, but the website did not use https encryption.

This list basically summed up the Dover Downs Casino experience. It was a functional and legal online casino, but there were some obvious areas with room for improvement – most notably the software quality and game selection.

Dover Downs Casino Bonuses

Dover Downs Casino offered a two-part bonus for new players. One was a $10 registration bonus that required no deposit and the other was a first-deposit bonus that offered up to $100 extra.

If you were physically present in Delaware and signed up for an account, Dover Downs Online would get you started with $10 extra. You did not need to make a deposit to claim this bonus; simply signing up for an account triggered the casino to give you $10 to try the games for real money.

Players had 30 days to use the $10 bonus and any winnings from the bonus could only be withdrawn after earning 3.75 status points per $1 in winnings. Status points were earned at a rate of 1 status point for every $16 wagered at the casino. This means if you ended up with $10 in winnings, you needed to place a total sum of wagers equal to $600.

If you made a deposit of $20 or more, Dover Downs Casino matched it with a 100% bonus worth up to $100. For example, a $50 deposit would get you $50 in bonus money and a $100 deposit would get you $100 in bonus money.

The deposit bonus also came with wagering requirements, but this one only required 2.5 status points per $1 in bonus money. This worked out to you needing to wager $40 for every $1 in bonus money. For example, a $100 bonus would only be cleared for withdrawal after placing wagers totaling $4,000.

Dover Downs Casino App

The Dover Downs mobile casino app provided a much better experience as far as graphics and interface goes. While it looked similar to the desktop version in styling and general appearance, it was optimized for mobile play. This in turn made it easier to navigate throughout the casino. In short, the lobby just looked better in how it fits on-screen, and the games all loaded fairly quickly.

One minor drawback was that Dover Downs mobile games required all users to turn their phones sideways into landscape mode – not a big deal, but some players found this annoying. Other than that, the mobile casino looked and functioned quite well.

iOS users could visit the app store and search for “Dover Downs” to get the app straight from the App Store. If you were on an Android device, you could point your browser to DoverDowns.com, select “online gaming” and you would see a link to download the app.

Dover Downs Mobile Casino Screenshots

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Dover Downs Casino Software

The software used by Dover Downs online casino was a mixed bag that got the job done, but it left much room for improvement. For starters, the casino lobby was a clunky interface that listed games in no particular order and which required manual mouse clicks to scroll through the various games. Searching for any particular game was cumbersome.

On a more positive note, each individual game looked and functioned great. If you could get past the clunky lobby, you would find the games themselves were well-designed, moved quickly, and responded instantly to button clicks. The reels moved smoothly and the games progressed at a nice pace.

No download was necessary to play at Dover Downs Casino, which made it compatible with PCs and Macs alike. All games loaded in-browser at the Dover Downs website and worked well on all desktop setups.

Dover Downs Casino Game Selection

And now we move back to a weak point: game selection. Dover Downs Casino had fewer than 50 games in total, with the overwhelming majority of those being online slots. There were 46 slots games and two table games in all. For table games, the only options were Classic Blackjack and American roulette.

The slots lineup at Dover Downs consisted of traditional reel games, video slots, and a few progressive jackpot machines. At the time of this review, the largest progressive jackpot topped out at just shy of $186,000.

Table games were severely lacking, with Classic Blackjack and American roulette being the only non-slot options. The lack of additional table games or even video poker was puzzling because 888 Holdings, which powered all of Delaware’s online gaming platforms, had a huge library of games it could have provided.

As it stands, this was clearly a casino for slots-oriented players. Dover Downs Online suffered from limited game variety for its entire lifetime.

Dover Downs Online Poker Review

Dover Downs Online Poker started to see some growth in its later years thanks to player sharing agreements signed by the governors of Delaware and other states allowing sites to share players across state lines. Traffic remained a concern nonetheless, but the situation was improving up until Dover Downs closed permanently in 2023.

Cash games and tournaments were both available, with No Limit Holdem and Pot Limit Omaha accounting for the majority of the action. The small and medium stakes games tended to generate the most activity, although higher-stakes games did run from time to time.

One major negative point was that the software was only compatible with PCs. Mac and mobile users could not play poker online at Dover Downs. This was an issue for all three of Delaware’s legal poker sites.

Pros

  • Multi-State Poker Network: Delaware poker sites are authorized to share player pools with licensed poker sites in other states.
  • Welcome Bonus: The $500 welcome bonus served as a nice incentive to try Dover Downs poker. Even if you claimed the poker bonuses at Delaware Park and Harrington Online, you could still claim this one to further boost the bankroll.
  • Adequate Game Variety: Dover Downs offered no-limit ring games, fixed limit ring games, multi-table tournaments, and sit-n-go tournaments.

Cons

  • Limited Poker Traffic: Although poker traffic improved after the formation of the Multi-State Poker Network, the Dover Downs poker room still came up short in average daily traffic.
  • Weak Software: Dover Downs Online had the most dated poker software in the nation.
  • No Mac or Mobile Support: One of the biggest misses for Dover Downs poker was zero support for Macs or mobile users. You had to have a PC to play online poker in Delaware.
  • Limited Promotions: Delaware’s three online casinos almost never offered valuable promotions to attract new players.

Dover Downs Poker Bonus

All new customers automatically received a 100% welcome bonus in return for signing up and making a deposit of at least $20. You did not need any sort of special bonus code to claim this bonus.

This offer effectively doubled your first deposit. If you deposited $20, you got $20 on top of that. If you deposited $100, you received an extra $100, and so on.

After the bonus was credited to your account, it could be released for withdrawal by playing in real money cash games and tournaments. The first $20 of your bonus was released in $5 increments for every 40 status points earned. The remainder was released in $10 increments for every 80 status points earned.

Every $1 you paid in tournament fees or rake earned 2 status points. This means if you played in a cash game one evening and paid a total of $10 in rake, you earned 20 status points. The more you played, the more points you earned, and the faster the bonus was cleared.

Dover Downs Poker Software

The Dover Downs Poker software was poorly-rated despite being provided by one of the world’s most experienced online gaming companies (888). For years, customers reported issues with geolocation problems, lagging software, and random disconnections.

The lack of support for Macs and mobile devices further emphasized the general sense that Dover Downs was not particularly motivated to generate action. Although Delaware was a small state population-wise, it did have access to a bigger player pool thanks to the Multi-State Poker Network. Improved compatibility could have gone a long way in generating additional traffic.

Dover Downs Online Deposit Methods

Dover Downs Online did not have a large list of accepted deposit methods, but the options it did offer were sufficient for most players:

Bank Transfer Credit Cards Debit Cards MasterCard Visa

Expert Opinion: Is Dover Downs Legit?

Dover Downs was a legitimate retail sports betting and online gambling option in Delaware. Under state law, Delaware’s three land-based casinos were the only operators permitted to offer online gambling and in-person sports betting. Additionally, the Delaware Lottery regulates online gambling to ensure players receive fair treatment and prompt withdrawals.

Unfortunately, 888 Holdings never took full advantage of the opportunity it had in Delaware as the state’s official online gambling and poker provider. The Delaware Lottery’s decision to switch from 888 to Rush Street Gaming in 2023 resulted in drastically improved software, game selection, and promotions.