As the regulated sports betting industry heats up around the country, retail Maryland sports betting is already live and the state is getting closer to launching mobile sports wagering.
That could happen as soon as later this month or, hopefully, at least sometime in December.
Senate Bill HB940 was signed into law by Gov. Larry Hogan in May 2021. Retail sports betting began in December 2021 at five casinos in the state and since then, a handful of smaller retail locations also have started taking sports wagers.
However, working out the details of licensing Maryland sportsbook apps has taken quite a bit longer.
Hogan had called for the launch of online sports betting in time for the start of the 2022 NFL season, but that didn’t happen. Fortunately for eager sports bettors, the pace of getting online sports wagering up-and-running seemed to accelerate in the fall.
Recently, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission found as qualified 20 online sports wagering entities: 10 applicants for Mobile Sports Wagering licenses, and 10 applicants for Online Sports Wagering Operator licenses.
The Maryland Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) next meets Nov. 21 and is expected to vote on those qualified applicants. Approved applicants are then “awarded” licenses and go into the final phase of the approval process.
The final approval phase before mobile sports betting companies are issued a license is a successful controlled demonstration of operations and procedures.
Among the companies found as qualified by the state Lottery & Gaming Control Commission were some familiar names such as BetMGM, Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, FanDuel, PENN Entertainment, Rush Street Interactive and PointsBet, and a few entries that might be less familiar to Maryland bettors, such as PARX Interactive, BetFred and Fanatics.
It won’t be long now for bettors to find BetMGM Maryland promo codes as well as those of all the other qualified operators.
How Many Marylanders Are Betting?
With retail Maryland sports betting live, more than one in seven Maryland adults currently bet on sports, which puts the number around 15%. When online sports betting launches nearly one in four Maryland adults are likely to bet on sports. On the flip side, around 56% of Marylanders are very unlikely to place a sports wager when Maryland online sports betting is live.
How Often Will Marylanders Bet?
More than 40% of Maryland sports bettors are expected to bet on sports weekly, according to the survey. The numbers also showed that nearly one in four Maryland sports bettors expects to bet on sports monthly.
Residents Have Crossed Borders to Bet
One in five sports bettors in Maryland, according to the survey, said they have traveled to neighboring states to bet
.
Preferences in Sports Betting Brands
The approval process is ongoing for mobile. But with retail betting live in the state, operators already have their feet in the door and the brand preference varies from DraftKings to BetRivers.
Event Betting Preference
Each state is responsible for its own legislation and deciding individual rules for its markets. This means each state can have its own restrictions on betting and different offerings on events. Nearly one in six bettors would bet on college sports if it was available to them.
Details of Survey
BetMaryland.com commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct this survey. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size is 1,003 Maryland adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between May 14 – May 30, 2021. The survey was carried out online and the figures have been weighted and are representative of all Maryland adults aged 18 and over. A sports bettor is defined as someone who selected “Yes, I do” when asked if they currently bet on sports. A sports fan is defined as a respondent to select at least “I am a little bit interested in sports” in a four-point scaled level of interest in sports question. An avid sports fan is defined as a respondent to select “This is one of my TOP interests” in a four-point scaled level of interest in sports question OR Those to select top box in a four-point scaled level of interest in sports question.
BetMaryland.com is your go-to site for updates on the road to mobile betting in the state. It also is your best spot for Maryland sports betting promo codes.
Matthew Asher contributed to this report.
