That noise you heard yesterday was the anticipation of sports betting in Delaware being sucked out of everyone who intended on visiting the first state to gamble on the NFL or March Madness.

The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals formally announced their decision to deny the state’s original plan yesterday. Delaware can only offer parlay betting on the NFL with bettors needing to choose at least three games on one bet.

That sucks.

About the only good thing that came out of the opinion was that the three-judge panel didn’t say anything about “the integrity of the game.” That line of reasoning from the leagues which sued Delaware totally fell short, which is a small consolation.

The court instead found that the federal law which allows Delaware to even offer sports betting can only be interpreted narrowly, meaning the state has to stick to what it offered back in 1976. Those games all involved parlays of between three and 12 teams. The court went with the lowest amount and wouldn’t allow the state to add any other sports.

Picking the winners of three NFL games, even with a point spread, is hard. There are too many factors that can screw you up. I guess that’s what the court intends because Delaware’s law says any betting must be consistent with a lottery, meaning luck must be more important than skill. But I think skill plays more of a role than the judges intend because you need to really know your stuff to even get the three games to the point where you need good luck to help you out.

I will probably make at least one trip to Delaware to bet, if only to support the project. But the thought of going on a bunch of Sundays and placing a few bets has pretty much disappeared in my head.

That sucks.