One of the nation’s likeliest online gaming legalization candidates won’t see the first iCasino launch until at least 2027.
Maryland lawmakers will not introduce another iGaming legalization bill until 2026, state Sen. Ron Watson reaffirmed during a recent gaming industry conference. That means the first iCasinos wouldn’t go live until at least 2027 – if they are approved.
Maryland’s constitution prohibits gambling expansion without voter support via a referendum amendment on a statewide ballot. Lawmakers couldn’t get a measure on this fall’s ballot, so the next opportunity will be in 2026. Watson said legislators will eschew legislation efforts in 2025 and refocus their push leading up to securing an iGaming ballot measure the following year.
Speaking at the summer meeting of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) conference July 18, Watson said proponents were strengthening their approach for the political struggle ahead.
“The legislator literally is just the quarterback,” Watson said in an address to fellow lawmakers from across the country. “All we do is introduce the bill, but you need a whole team behind this type of legislation, and I'm suggesting a marketing team to really make this thing happen.”
Obstacles
Maryland entered 2024 as perhaps the likeliest jurisdiction to join the seven other states with legal online slots and table games.
An iGaming bill passed with widespread bipartisan support in the House of Delegates in March. It then stalled in the Senate and was not taken up before the state’s legislative session concluded in April.
Unlike regulated sportsbooks, which operate in Maryland, Washington D.C., and 37 other states, iCasinos have divided the gaming industry. Many high-profile gaming stakeholders, including the company behind the Live! Casino Hotel Maryland in Arundel Mills, have opposed iGaming, arguing it will cannibalize revenues from brick-and-mortar gaming.
This has sparked worries that decreased in-person attendance will lead to job losses at both the gaming facilities and other nearby businesses, many of which are in economically disadvantaged areas that depend on the casinos as their main economic engines. In union-heavy Maryland, this has made online casino gaming a political nonstarter for many politicians, especially Democrats who hold majorities in both legislative chambers.
Maryland won't reintroduce online casino gaming legislation until 2026, state Sen. Ron Watson reaffirmed during today's NCLGS conference; he said proponents will wait until 2026 to ramp up support ahead of a required voter referendum that would be needed for that Fall's ballot
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) July 18, 2024
“Material was put under all the legislators' doors each and every day leading up to the vote to ‘not take our jobs.’ It was on television. They had a campaign,” Watson said. “They had a campaign, and they were willing to put money behind this campaign to fight this initiative.”
Stakeholders in iGaming states including Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey reaffirmed during last week’s NCLGS conference that online casinos has not disrupted brick-and-mortar casinos financial bottom lines. Watson said individualized educational pushes remain key to convincing members in his state and elsewhere.
“Don't try to convince an 80-year-old legislator who doesn't know what Twitter and Facebook and Instagram is about iGaming,” Watson said during last week’s conference. “You can't do that.”
Nationwide impact
Maryland’s prolonged legalization plan comes as other states have struggled to pass measures of their own.
With most legislative sessions concluded this year, 2024 is on pace to end without approvals for any new iCasino markets. Only four states – New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan – feature fully competitive iCasino markets. Connecticut allows two iCasinos while Delaware and Rhode Island permit one apiece.
Maryland serves as a microcosm for other state’s legislative struggles.
The cannibalization fear has paralyzed iGaming conversations in multiple statehouses as lawmakers representing labor interests remain fearful of any threats to union jobs. Other legislators fear “a slot machine in every pocket” will increase gambling addiction.
Combined with entrenched religious, conservative, and anti-gambling wings in nearly all states, there is little political maneuvering room.
Despite the legislative struggles, online slots and table games remain a top priority for operators. These games have far greater margins than digital sportsbooks and require little additional internal financial investments to launch in new markets.
Gaming advocates in state legislatures and corporate boardrooms hope industry momentum can change in the two years after the 2024 election cycle concludes this November.
Ohio officials are exploring iGaming, potentially bringing another high-population state online. Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana have also shown interest in iGaming, efforts that could be bolstered by a serious campaign in Iowa.
Legislative advocates in New York, the nation’s fourth-most populated state, have maintained public optimism they can get iGaming across the finish line in the next two years, especially after officials award licenses for three downstate brick-and-mortar casinos.
Maryland holds the distinction as the only state to advance a bill through at least one legislative chamber this year. Supporters such as Watson hope this can help prepare advocates for the challenges ahead of a full passage effort come 2026.
“I do think each state is different, and you have to really look at all the nuances,” Watson said, “because the thing that you miss is the thing that's going to bite you.”
