Football season is underway, and a handful of states such as Arizona and Washington got their sports-wagering programs up and running just in time last week, joining a growing list of jurisdictions such as Virginia, D.C., New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
In the spring, lawmakers established the framework for a legalized sports-betting process in Maryland, too, after voters approved its legalization last year.
So why is it still not happening? Basically, because every state writes its own laws differently, Maryland included.
鈥淓ach jurisdiction writes a law they feel is best applicable to their specific jurisdiction,鈥� said John Martin, the director of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.
鈥淭he law written here in Maryland is by far the most comprehensive and expansive bill that any state has entertained so far. So, yes — you鈥檙e seeing the enormity and the comprehensiveness of the law really dictating the process.鈥�
But the process is moving forward. even as the agency takes public comments from residents on the proposed rules for the next two weeks.
Under the bill passed by lawmakers, 17 venues around the state are all given special carve-outs for sports gaming licenses. These include the casinos already operating in Maryland, as well as places such as the Laurel Park horse race track; the Rod N Reel restaurant and resort in Chesapeake Beach, and stadiums such as FedEx Field and Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The lottery is already in the process of conducting background checks on those businesses, though in some cases they鈥檙e clearly already known entities to the lottery.
鈥淰ery, very soon we will open our E-licensing鈥� portal on our website to allow these 17 named applicants to begin to submit their applications,鈥� said Martin. 鈥淎ny day now we should be in that position to release the e-licensing portal.鈥�
鈥淲e are hoping for late fall, early winter, to get as many of these 17 locations up and selling,鈥� he said.
However, to bet in Maryland you would have to go to those locations to wager with cash. Maryland law also granted up to 60 mobile betting licenses 鈥� none of them tethered to the 17 Class A licenses. But that process is much further behind, and Martin says it鈥檒l likely be early next year “before we鈥檒l even begin to look at where those potential mobile licenses may be.鈥�
That means that, even though MGM National Harbor or Caesar鈥檚 Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, for instance, might get Class A licenses and open sports books later this year, you鈥檇 still have to bet with cash in-person there, because their mobile apps will need a separate license.
Obtaining such a license isn鈥檛 necessarily guaranteed, but between Caesar鈥檚 and MGM鈥檚 stature and experience in the gaming business, and the fact that 60 mobile licenses are up for grabs, it鈥檚 fair to say they鈥檒l likely get one. It鈥檒l just be a while before you can use them, or any of the other popular apps in other local marketplaces.
