Maryland Government Approves Sports Betting Applications

In November of 2020, the Maryland state legislature approved the framework for the legalization of sports betting for its residents. As part of the legislation, there is the potential for the approval of 17 retail sports betting licenses. In all likelihood, that will eventually lead to the approval of mobile sports betting, which follows a familiar path used in other states like New York and Illinois.

One year later, Maryland's Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) has approved five applications for sports betting licenses. In fact, they have approved licenses for the following five U.S. sports betting operators: Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars, FanDuel, and TwinSpires. All of these operators have established a partnership with one of Maryland's retail casinos, though those relationships have not yet been made public.

While the applications are officially approved, the SWARC is obligated to place the five casinos in question under final review before the casinos can start accepting bets. The five casinos in question are Hollywood Casino, Horseshoe Casino, Live! Casino, MGM National Harbor, and Ocean Downs Casino. The final approval process is expected to take place within the next 30 to 45 days.

According to SWARC Director John Martin, "We’re excited to move forward and we’re coordinating closely with the casinos to make sure they finish everything as quickly as they can. Work has been ongoing, and we’re close. Our target is to launch within 30-45 days, which means Marylanders will be able to bet on the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl.”

That's really positive news for sports bettors in Maryland. As for mobile sports betting, there is little chance that is going to come to fruition until at least the middle of 2022. It would seem that the SWARC and state legislature are using retail sports betting as a soft opening of sorts before they release the flood gates of mobile sports betting where the real money starts rolling in.

Other Sports Betting Issues in Maryland

It's worth noting that U.S. bookmaker PointsBet has also been approved as one of the state's sports betting operators. In fact, they were the first operator to be approved. They are partnered with Riverboat on the Potomac out of Colonial Beach, MD. This is actually the first approval with a stated partner. As stated earlier, the other five casinos have yet to disclose their sports betting partners to the public.

Under the provisions of the legislation, the Maryland Lottery has also been authorized to open and run sports betting kiosks. Unfortunately, the SWARC and Lottery are having difficulty working together. The Lottery submitted five applications for approval in October. The SWARC initially delayed approval of any of the applications. The issues at hand became apparent when a meeting scheduled for Nov. 3rd was canceled with no explanation and no rescheduling.

After Maryland Governor Hogan and several casinos intervened, the five applications did get approved. Going forward, the bureaucracy in Maryland's gambling community needs to focus on working together better for the benefit of the state's residents. Hopefully, things will go smoother in the next 12 to 24 months.