Delaware Lottery Director Vernon Kirk recently told Cardplayer that the official launch will go forward on the last day of October, but some online casino games may not be ready. Online poker will be available, "but it will still be awhile" before a full slate of casino games will be offered.

That means Delaware will beat New Jersey to the punch by almost four weeks, as the Garden State is on track for a November 26 launch date. Delaware's online gaming rollout is not receiving the same attention bestowed on New Jersey and Nevada, perhaps because the state has only about 900,000 residents.

Delaware launched free-play online gambling in August to get Delawareans prepared for the real-money action that is now only a little more than a week away. Kirk indicated that free-play online gambling has "attracted a lot of interest" from residents, as a database of possible real-money players has been established.

Delaware gaming officials have been in contact with their counterparts in both New Jersey and Nevada to discuss interstate compact agreements. Kirk said that Nevada is very "anxious to compact with us" in hopes of increasing player liquidity in its online poker scheme.

The states will likely pursue such an agreement a bit further down the road. "Right now we are just concentrating on getting our site up," Kirk said. "But that [interstate compacts] will be one of the very first steps we take after launch."