Nearly 18 months after voters asked for it, there is still no final timeline for mobile sports betting in Maryland.
The MD Sports Wagering Application Review Commission met Thursday to hear an update on various topics, but there is still no estimate of when mobile MD sports betting might go live. In-person sports betting in Maryland debuted in December.
An estimate from a top MD regulator pegged late 2022 as a potential mobile launch date.
No Maryland disparity study update
Last month, a long-awaited disparity study began its process. The study will determine whether the SWARC needs to make additional efforts to include minority- and women-owned businesses in sports betting.
Maryland Assistant Attorney General David Stamper did not include a timeline last month. This month, Stamper did not provide an update and said he would email commissioners to explain why.
The SWARC was established in the MD sports betting legislation to develop guidelines for competitive sports betting licenses. In addition to 17 designated licenses, up to 30 retail and 60 mobile licenses are up for grabs.
Maryland sports betting application progress
There is work behind the scenes on applications for the competitive licenses, said Kimberly Copp, an attorney with Taft Stettinius & Hollister.
Copp said she hopes to have a substantive example ready for the next SWARC meeting. That meeting will be May 18.
The governor’s Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs is collecting information to set goals, said Gerald Stinnett, MBE compliance manager, VLT Operations.
Maryland sports betting informational meeting
Copp also spoke about the May 6 informational summit Taft will host with Spectrum Gaming Group in Baltimore.
There are two panels: one on running a sports betting operation and another providing a regulatory and legal overview of MD sports betting. Speakers include:
- Johnny Grooms, BetMGM director of East Coast retail sportsbook operations
- Paul Hannon, PointsBet SVP of corporate development
- Tory Key, Elys Game Technology business development project leader
- Richard Brower, MVB Bank SVP of fintech sales and market development
- Jeff Ifrah, Ifrah Law founding member
- Lloyd Levenson, Cooper Levenson CEO and chairman of the casino and iGaming law practice group
- Robert Ruben, Duane Morris partner and team lead for the gaming industry group
No new retail sports betting in Maryland
There are five operational retail sportsbooks in the state, with two more on the way, according to Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency COO Jim Nielsen.
There are four licenses waiting for final approvals, but Greenmount Station and Riverboat on the Potomac are close to opening.
MD retail sportsbooks stay steady
While Maryland bettors wait for online options, retail sportsbooks were close to hitting new highs in handle in March. Maryland’s five retail sportsbooks took $32 million in March, according to an MLGCA report released earlier this month.
That is just shy of the record $32.6 million set in January. The sportsbooks held 12.7% to generate $3.9 million in revenue, resulting in $577,019 in state tax revenue.
Live! Casino’s FanDuel Sportsbook took $13.6 million in bets, while BetMGM’s sportsbook at MGM National Harbor handled $9.3 million. The other three sportsbooks each recorded less than $5 million in wagers.
