Maryland Opens Sports Betting During Thanksgiving Week

It’s been two years in the making. It was two years ago that Maryland residents voted yes to a sports betting referendum, which was presented during the 2020 election cycle. From that day forward, it has taken the Maryland State legislature and the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency to get the state’s sports betting rules and regulations in place. Now, the Agency has given the green light for licensed mobile sports betting operators to start taking legal wagers during Thanksgiving week.

The announcement comes just in the nick of time for NCAA FB rivalry week when the #2 Ohio State Buckeyes will be playing the #3 Michigan Wolverines in Columbus Ohio. It also comes right in time for the start of the 2022 World Cup Soccer Tournament where the American team has tied Wales 1-1 in their first Group match.

About Maryland’s Sports Betting Legislation

The devil is always in the details. When HB 940 was passed in April of 2021 by a Senate vote of 47-0, it authorized the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency to approve up to 60 mobile sports betting operators. Additionally, the legislation stated up to 47 licenses could be awarded to licensees that wanted to run retail sports betting operations.

Licensed Sports Betting Operators

As of November 21, 2021. Ten (1) mobile sports betting licenses have been approved. Of the 10, at least seven (7) mobile sports betting operators have announced they are ready to go. That would include the following top U.S. sports betting operators: BetFred, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, Fanduel, and PointsBet. A seventh name has yet to be released.

Three licensees have reported they won’t make the initial launch date. According to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, Maryland Stadium Sub LLC, and FedEx Field (The Washington Commanders of the NFL) have not yet completed their requirements. As soon as they do, they will be permitted to immediately join the fray.

Note: The following Casinos have already been accepting retail sports bets: Bingo World, Ocean Downs Casino, MGM National Harbor, Horseshoe Casino, Hollywood Casino, MGM National Harbor, and Live! Casino and Hotel.

The Launch Date

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency gave the green light for Maryland sports betting operators to start taking legal sports wagers on November 23, 2022, the day before Thanksgiving. Prior to going forward, they requested that bookmakers participate in a soft launch. The soft launch was run from November 21 through November 22 with nary a glitch. That dropped the flag, and Maryland sports bettors started flocking to the internet to register with top online bookmakers in time to claim amazing bonuses.

Given the incredible competition for new customers that mobile sports betting operators will be facing, most of them are offering exciting welcome bonuses. Most of these offers are coming to the table with free bets that will be made available on launch day.

At DraftKings, new customers will be entered in a random drawing for five (5) free bets with a wagering value of $100K. That’s plenty of incentive to register early.