Regulators in the Old Line State are making progress towards a possible launch of mobile wagering options for Maryland sports betting before Christmas.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission (MLGCC) met Thursday, with a majority of members finding 10 operators (or would-be operators) of online sports betting sites qualified for licenses in the state.
Those operator-class licenses would let the bookmakers accept bets on behalf of the holder of a mobile sports betting license.
The MLGCC found 10 entities as qualified to hold those mobile licenses on Thursday as well, including a company tied to the National Football League's Washington Commanders. The team is already on track to open a retail sportsbook at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., as early as next month.
Maryland’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) will now decide on November 21 whether to award mobile licenses.
If the SWARC awards licenses, and following a final review by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, mobile applicants could be issued their permits by the regulator and online sports betting could finally begin in the state.
“And it’s our hope that if SWARC can get those to us early November, we may be in the business by the end of November,” Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin said earlier this month. “If it takes them to the middle of November, it might be the first part of December. So it’s still going to be a little bit of a moving target but once those applicants are awarded and then issued licenses we then see an ongoing, rolling process over the next several weeks after that.”
The progress made Thursday, then, keeps Maryland in line to launch mobile sports betting before the end of 2022. The ten operators found qualified on Thursday and that could be among the first to start taking mobile wagers in Maryland are:
- Caesars Sportsbook
- FanDuel
- Betfred
- BetMGM
- DraftKings
- Fanatics
- Parx
- Barstool Sportsbook
- PointsBet
- BetRivers
A November or December launch would ensure Maryland bettors have a chance to wager on the National Football League’s regular season. However, even a November start will still be two years after Maryland voters approved legal sports betting in a referendum and almost one year after retail wagering began in the state at casinos.
The lengthy rollout for mobile sports betting is due in part to the state’s unique legislation, which aims to ensure the participation of minorities and women in the industry, but it earned the ire of the governor, who wanted online wagering up and running for the start of the NFL season.
Regulators have been trying to pick up the pace lately, including on Thursday, when they used "alternative" licensing standards in deeming applicants qualified. Those standards can allow for faster qualifying and licensing of an applicant that has similar gaming licenses in Maryland or another state.
"After being awarded a license by SWARC, each business must conduct a controlled demonstration, ensuring that its systems and internal control procedures are functioning correctly," Maryland Lottery and Gaming said in a press release issued on Thursday. "Once a business has successfully completed these steps, Maryland Lottery and Gaming is authorized to issue a license allowing the business to begin operations. The initial start date for mobile wagering will be announced after SWARC has awarded licenses."
'We're almost there'
Maryland’s sports-betting law allows for up to 60 mobile sports betting licenses to be issued as well, meaning there are still 50 that are potentially available to applicants.
“There is still a flurry of activity ahead of us over the next couple of weeks, but we’re going to see the first mobile wagers placed in Maryland soon,” Martin said in the press release on Thursday. “We know sports fans have been eagerly awaiting that opportunity, and we’re almost there.”
