DELAWARE STATE POLICE VIDEO LOTTERY ENFORCEMENT UNIT

Lieutenant Joseph Huttie

The Delaware State Police Video Lottery Enforcement Unit (VLEU) was established in 1994 and is comprised of six sworn members of the Delaware State Police and one civilian administrative assistant. VLEU is under the command of Lieutenant Joseph E. Huttie. Sergeant Joseph M. Ferrera supervises four detectives; Michael J. Savoy, Neal J. Potts, Mark H. MacMicking and Angela J. Garnsey. Ms. Betsy McIntosh is the unit’s administrative assistant.

2009 was an exciting year for the Video Lottery Enforcement Unit as it continued to operate in partnership with the Delaware State Lottery. In fiscal year 2009, the Lottery contributed $248 million dollars to the General Fund which finances the majority of state services including public education, health and social services, public safety, judicial and corrections, family services and natural resources. The Lottery is the state’s fourth-largest revenue generator.

The primary responsibility of the VLEU is regulatory licensing and background investigations of all Video Lottery Terminal (VLT) employees. This includes background investigations of owners and operators of the three venues, (Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway) the major shareholders, the central computer system provider (Scientific Games), the five game manufacturers (Bally, IGT, WMS Shuffle Master and Speilo) contracted by the State Lottery and the management services providers. These backgrounds are necessary to determine fitness and maintain integrity standards.

In 2009, VLEU conducted 489 new employee backgrounds, 460 license renewals and 189 technical license backgrounds. Currently, there are over 1,200 active racino licenses on file. The VLEU assists the Lottery with regulation and compliance duties such as the import/export of VLT’s in and out of the state per the Johnson Act. The unit conducts video surveillance inspections of the gaming floor and verifies jackpots in excess of $50,000.00. The unit conducted 37 jackpot inspections in 2009.

In April, a jackpot inspection was completed at Harrington Raceway who had the largest jackpot win in Delaware history at $1,270,370.00. VLEU is additionally responsible for maintaining the integrity of the 24 hour lottery/gaming operation and ensure that all three racino’s operate free of criminal activity. The Video Lottery Enforcement Unit receives numerous requests from law enforcement agencies, gaming regulators and manufacturers across the nation to share gaming intelligence, criminal intelligence and background information of individuals and corporations. The Delaware State Police has exclusive jurisdiction at Delaware Park and Harrington Raceway. VLEU has a memorandum of understanding with Dover Police Department who investigates incidents on the gaming floor at Dover Downs unless they involve lottery proceeds.

In May 2009, VLEU investigated and arrested an employee for a $36,000.00 internal theft at Harrington Raceway where currency was taken from the count room over a period of seven weeks. In August, a patron of Dover Downs, left the racino with $3,500.00 winnings. He was followed into Newark where the suspect attempted to rob him at gunpoint. The suspect was later identified and arrested for attempted robbery. In December, VLEU assisted Troop 3 CIU with a robbery and carjacking of multiple victims that occurred in the parking lot of Harrington Raceway. The suspect was arrested and the gun was recovered in Dover.

Sports Book
In April 2009, VLEU participated in the RFI (Request for Information) process as sports betting companies competed to become the consulting firm for Delaware. The bid was awarded to Brandywine Wagering. Delaware became the only state East of the Mississippi River that is, under federal law, allowed to offer sports betting. There are three other states, Montana, Oregon, and Nevada that have laws pre-dating the federal governments ban on sports betting, which allow them to utilize this type of wagering. Of those, only Nevada takes full advantage of the law. The four major pro sports leagues and the NCAA filed a federal lawsuit in July 2009 to prohibit Delaware from launching a sports lottery. In August, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that Delaware’s plan for single-game betting and all-sports betting violated federal law. The court ruled that Delaware could offer only the type of lottery it had conducted in 1976. In 1976, Delaware had two wagering games involving NFL contests. The state grossed $721,812 and closed the betting in the last week of December because of controversy over point spreads. On September 10, 2009, sports betting was offered in Delaware but limited to multi-game pools and NFL play.

Table Games
In July 2009, the State Lottery posted a RFP (Request for Proposal) seeking consulting services for the planning and implementation of table game (blackjack, craps, roulette, poker etc.) and regulatory controls at authorized Delaware venues. Spectrum Gaming was awarded the contract. In August, an independent gaming commission of six Delaware lawmakers, two cabinet members and an outside chairman, chosen by the Governor was formed. The Sports and Video Lottery Commission is charged with recommending whether to allow more gambling venues in Delaware. It agreed to hire an outside consultant to study the issue.

In October 2009, VLEU began working with Secretary Schilro’s office for developing a Delaware State Police criminal enforcement gaming model for table games. It is anticipated that unit responsibilities will shift from a regulatory function to an investigative enforcement function. The proposed unit structure includes three sections; intelligence, background investigations and criminal enforcement. The finalized structure, staffing levels and job functions will be decided in 2010. The unit will continue to conduct background investigations but due to the human factor inherent with table gaming, it is expected that criminal complaints involving robbery, credit card fraud, embezzlement, money-laundering, racketeering and identity theft will increase. In an effort to ensure that the gaming industry is free from criminal enterprises, VLEU has made recommendations to ensure criminal code changes are part of the enabling legislation. Strategic and tactical assessments of crime and incidents will be conducted yearly.

Also in 2009, The Delaware Information and Analysis Center (DIAC) assisted VLEU in developing the Delaware Gaming Intelligence Network (DGIN). The system allows Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway security/surveillance sections to share gaming information directly with the Delaware State Police and each other over a secured web based network. There is also a Silent Partner component that allows selected designee’s immediate notification on eminent threats and urgent intelligence information.

As Delaware gaming moves forward in a cooperative effort with private businesses to generate new business and revenue for the state, The Delaware State Police Video Lottery Enforcement Unit remains committed to providing a safe and secure gaming facilities. Specialized training, advanced technologies and intelligence sharing will allow VLEU to face the new challenges anticipated on 2010.

- Information obtained from 2009 DSP Annual Report -