What’s News in Maryland Sports Betting? – Eye On Annapolis

Its been over four years since the United States Supreme Court overturned the federal sports betting ban, allowing states to legalize the activity if they wished. More than a dozen states followed suit, legalizing sports betting. However, operations have yet to start in some of them, while many only offer in-person betting.

State voters in Maryland approved the referendum in 2021, and the governor made the legislation legal and enacted it on July 1st. This article will explore the state of sports betting in Maryland, the legislatures history, and comparison with other states.

Following legalization, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission established a set of rules and guidelines to regulate sports betting activities in the state. Legislators have approved a structure utilizing two distinct types of licenses:

Currently, ten licenses are reserved for six Maryland casinos, three professional sports teams, and the Maryland Jockey Club, which also includes the Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park.

There are a total of thirty Class B licenses reserved for businesses that have physical locations in the State of Maryland. These licenses will be subject to competitive bidding to ensure fairness. Seven additional licenses are reserved for the Maryland State Fairgrounds, two commercial bingo halls, and four off-track betting establishments.

Moreover, the holders of both types of licenses can apply for mobile wagering licenses. Maryland law allows 30 retail sites and 60 online sportsbooks, although only five have started taking bets.

The Bill H989 of 2017 paved the way for legalizing sports betting in the State of Maryland. It called for the establishment of a task force that would study the implementation of sports gaming in the State.

In the following year, 2018, Bill H1014 asked the General Assembly to authorize the Gaming Commission to issue sports wagering licenses to increase revenue generation. However, the bill did not pass the Senate.

The next two years passed without note, except that legislators opted to settle the issue with a vote in 2020.

Finally, HB940 was passed in April 2021, ending the debate over sports betting in the State of Maryland. Retail sports betting also launched in 2021, and BetMGM was the first sportsbook to start operating in the State.

Many retail operators have built a lot of hype to increase betting activity after experiencing a slow start. Currently, mostly in-person betting is available, while online betting is largely still pending. Governor Larry Hogan has urged the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission to provide licenses to online operators before the start of the NFL 22 season, though chances are very slim.

Online sportsbooks have not reported more than $31 million in bets, which is minimal compared to the States annual projections. The State of Maryland only collected $452,897 in taxes from Junes sports betting revenue, so more licenses are still needed.

Maryland sports betting still outperforms D.C. and Virginia. All three states legalized the activity early on compared to other states, although Washington D.C. landed itself in a disaster.

Maryland and Virginia have allowed casinos to participate in sports betting operations to facilitate the integration. However, Virginia is focused on siting the casinos and building them; this will affect the tax rates and licensing fees. Therefore, the State of Maryland is expected to allow more operators to participate in sports betting activities than Virginia.

On the other hand, Washington D.C. has not fared well, even though it took its first bet in September 2021. Washington completely restricted mobile wagering, limiting it to a single app run by D.C. Lottery. Instead of utilizing a competitive bidding process like Maryland, the council gave the license to Intralot, a huge deterrent to D.C.s revenue potential.

Moreover, Intralot organizes sports betting activities via its GambetDC mobile app, which is widely being called out for inferior markets and uncompetitive odds. As a result, the temporary retail sportsbook in the Capital One Arena, the first U.S arena with a sportsbook, continues to outpace the GambetDC app.

Additionally, theres a new option for people tired of waiting for statewide mobile betting: BetMGM. The international gambling giant has recently launched a new geofenced app in collaboration with the Washington Nationals. BetMGM has integrated into the D.C. area and is seeking to expand its operations to other U.S. states. The physical sportsbook inside Nationals Park features over 40 large T.V.s for displaying odds and is open year-round for placing bets.

In conclusion, the State of Maryland seems to be on the right track regarding sports betting. While things need to be sped up, as Gov. Larry says, Maryland has fared far better than its neighbors, Virginia and Washington D.C..

While only five retail sportsbooks are operating, it will be exciting to see if SWARC comes through with the governors request to provide more approved licenses before the NFL 2022 season starts!

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What's News in Maryland Sports Betting? - Eye On Annapolis