Maryland Sports
Legal sports betting is on the horizon for Maryland. Gov. Larry Hogan has made the move official and will start the process in May of 2021. While this might seem like a long way off, Maryland is a hotbed for sports. It is home to the Ravens and Orioles, which receive the most attention, and the Washington Redskins, who play in the nearby Washington, DC metro area.
The MLGCA, or Maryland’s lottery and gaming agency, will be reviewing hundreds of pages of public comments in order to decide whether or not Maryland can have legal sports betting. Once the rules are finalized, in-person sports betting is expected to launch sometime in late this year or early in 2021. The next step is determining the location of licensed sites. There are currently four locations in the state that are eligible to offer sports betting.
Maryland residents voted in favor of sports betting in 2020, so it was an easy choice for lawmakers to make. In March, the state legislature approved HB940, which covers the legal aspects of sports gambling in Maryland. It also allows for physical and mobile sportsbooks, while extending opportunities to women and minority-owned businesses. It may take several years before all the licenses are awarded, but the legislation is a good step forward for the state.
Maryland Sports Betting Laws
Upon approval, the Maryland Gaming Control Association is pushing for a late fall or early winter launch date. The bill will also create a two-tiered licensing structure. Class A permits will be granted to casinos, while Class B permits will be awarded to larger entities. There will also be a limited number of mobile licenses issued to sports book operators. If the regulations are approved, the state is on track to have legal sports betting by the fall of 2021.
The state is trying to get a license to allow sports betting in Maryland by the NFL season in 2021, but the state has had several delays. The state hopes to have the market up and running by the end of the year. The state is not ready to have a sports gambling market until 2021, but it is on its way. That is a very long time to wait for a legal license to open a sportsbook in Maryland.
The state has a new sports betting law that will come into effect in November 2021. It will expand the number of teams and licenses that are available in the state. With the new legislation, the state hopes to increase its tax revenues by $20 million in the first year. However, the cost of licensing and operating a sportsbook in Maryland is more than a few dollars. This is a relatively small price to pay for legal sports betting in the state.