The launch of legal sports betting in Maryland is still TBD after a committee tasked with reviewing wagering applications voted to seek more information from would-be licensees.
Maryland’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) on Wednesday approved a motion to seek "supplemental ownership information" from applicants for retail sports betting licenses.
The decision follows the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission forwarding five applications to conduct in-person sports betting to the SWARC in October, so that the latter commission could potentially award those licenses. The gaming control commission did so after determining the locations met the necessary criteria for sports wagering.
Those five applications that have been sent to the SWARC are for Hollywood Casino in Perryville, Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin, Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover, and MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill.
But the SWARC did not award any licenses on Wednesday and won't meet again until the morning of November 18, which is the same date as a Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission meeting. The latter commission is responsible for the final step of issuing licenses after they've been awarded by the SWARC, which will allow for sports betting at a location to begin.
Again, though, no licenses were awarded by the SWARC on Wednesday despite "Consideration of Awarding Licenses to Qualified Sports Wagering Facility Applicants" being on its agenda.
Instead, the SWARC's request for more information came after the members went into a closed session for more than two hours to get legal advice about implementing the state's sports wagering law.
When the committee resumed meeting publicly, Chairman Tom Brandt said that "I think we've gotten our legal advice to the max," and added that they'd been "oriented" to the industry.
"So, these marathons should, god willing, be behind us," Brandt said.
Some public pushing
Even so, it's now been a year since Maryland voters approved sports wagering. The Maryland General Assembly then passed a bill in April that authorizes both retail and online sports betting in the state, and Gov. Larry Hogan signed the legislation into law in May.
Hogan may not be happy about the latest turn of events. As the regulatory process has dragged on, and with major sporting events looming, Hogan has put public pressure on the SWARC to approve sports betting licenses for the casinos.
The commission canceled its October meeting, for which Brandt said on Wednesday that "decision support materials" had been requested, but were not available in time. Members recently received several hundred pages of material, Brandt added.
SWARC was created by the state's sports-betting bill, and its members are appointed by the governor, the president of the state's Senate, and the speaker of the state's House of Delegates. The same bill includes unique measures aimed at ensuring minorities and women can participate in the state's new sports-betting industry.
"With Marylanders looking forward to betting on the NFL and March Madness, we now expect the legislature's Sports Wagering Applicant Review Commission to swiftly approve these licenses," Hogan said in a statement on October 21, which followed two more casino applications being advanced by the gaming control commission.
Maryland’s process for distributing sports betting licenses involves four steps, starting with an initial review by the SWARC and followed by a criminal and financial background check by the state’s lottery and gaming control commission. After this, it’s up to the SWARC to award licenses and then the gaming control commission to issue them following a final review, which would then allow businesses to start taking bets.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission has a scheduled meeting on Thursday, and again on November 18.
No one is pushing harder than I am to get sports betting up and running here in the State of Maryland. My full statement following @MDLottery determining that Hollywood Casino and Ocean Downs Casino qualify for sports wagering licenses: pic.twitter.com/fkG7sLFc61
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) October 21, 2021
Bettors will have to be 21 or older to wager on professional and college sports in Maryland when it does launch.
The state's legal sports betting model allows for up to 60 online sportsbook licenses to be issued, as well as 47 licenses for retail books at professional sports facilities and other brick-and-mortar establishments.
Seventeen specific locations are named in the state's legislation for in-person sports betting licenses, including the home venues of the Baltimore Ravens, Orioles, and the Washington Football Team. Also included in that list are six casinos, five off-track betting facilities, and two horse-racing tracks, including the host site of the Preakness, Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Those 17 named facilities are getting the first crack at sports-wagering licenses in the state. A separate license would still have to be obtained by those facilities if they want to offer online sports betting off their properties.
"After the SWARC formally awards the facility licenses, the [Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency] staff will ensure that the licensees have finalized their systems of internal controls and satisfied other operational requirements before issuing licenses," an October 21 press release from the gaming control commission said. "MLGCA staff are working with the applicants to expedite these tasks."
