Two more Maryland sportsbooks were licensed Wednesday just before the first three retail books open to take bets.
Riverboat on the Potomac and Long Shot’s both received sports betting licenses from the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission. Both were designated as part of the group of 17 establishments to receive MD sports betting licenses. The Maryland Lottery & Gaming Control Commission determined both were qualified for licensure earlier this month.
PointsBet is partnered with Riverboat on the Potomac, which is uniquely positioned to get business from Virginia as it docks in Colonial Beach, VA. The Australian-listed sportsbook recently received approval to launch sports betting in Virginia as well.
Long Shot’s, located about an hour west of Baltimore, has not announced a betting partner yet.
Retail MD sportsbooks open this week
It has been a long wait for those in Maryland waiting to bet legally ever since voters approved sports betting on the ballot last year. While mobile betting is taking much longer than expected, retail betting is officially a legal option as of Thursday afternoon.
MGM National Harbor will open its BetMGM sportsbook at 12:30 pm Thursday. Caesars Sportsbook at Horseshoe Casino and FanDuel Sportsbook at Live! will follow on Friday.
Two other sportsbooks – Barstool Sportsbook at Hollywood Perryville and TwinSpires at Ocean Downs – also have the necessary approvals from the SWARC. They will not go live this week but are working toward launching soon, lottery officials told Play Maryland.
PointsBet partners with University of Maryland’s Terps
PointsBet made news twice on Wednesday when the brand announced it would become an official partner of University of Maryland Athletics.
The agreement is PointsBet’s second with a university’s athletic department after partnering with the University of Colorado Buffaloes last year. It is the first sports betting agreement for a Big Ten school.
The agreement includes in-game and campus activations around the XFINITY Center and Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Also included is “strategic responsible and problem gambling education to Maryland staff, students and fans.”
No financial terms of the deal were available. In the deal with the University of Colorado, PointsBet is paying $30 for every new sportsbook customer on top of a seven-figure flat fee.