BALTIMORE — Sports betting in Maryland is legal but currently the only place sports fans can place their bets is in person.
Mobile gaming will be the topic of discussion at a meeting help by the state Sports Wagering and Application Review Commission (SWARC) Wednesday morning.
A lot of people who are anxious to launch mobile gaming in Maryland also are wondering what's taking so long.
The start of the 2022 NFL season kicks off in about three weeks but anyone hoping to bet on their favorite football team from the comfort of their own living room will have to wait a little bit longer.
Sports betting regulation expert and XLmedia editor Robert Linnehan said “what you’re seeing now is you’re seeing a lot of frustration from state bettors and you’re also seeing frustration from your governor Larry Hogan. You couldn’t get more of a of a public admonishment of him saying let’s get this going by NFL week one .”
Maryland Lottery and Gaming director John Martin said “this is the most comprehensive sports wagering legislation in the country and to do that it takes a lot of moving parts, takes a lot of everyone pulling in the same direction.”
Linnehan is keeping a close watch on what’s happening with the launch of mobile sports betting in Maryland.
“This new draft application process that they just approved a couple weeks ago should expedite things slightly,” Linnehan said .
“We’re still awaiting the official release of the industry analysis and making sure that all of the regulations have gone through the due process and the applications will be ready to be made available,” Martin said.
Martin said those regulations and application drafts still need to go through a 30-day review period.
“That process will actually start August 26 for 30 days and that will be an opportunity for people to come here to our facility and make public comments about the regulations that will be in place,” Martin said.
Another reason for the wait is making sure the state keeps its promise of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in awarding mobile gaming licenses.
“What we are following is what the law was intended to do and that was to provide a seat at the table for small businesses, minority owned businesses, women owned businesses, to share a meaningful equity partnership in the sports betting industry,” Martin said.
However, to avoid any further delay SWARC’s chairman Tom Brandt said the commission recently drafted its regulations without any criteria for race or gender.
Operators racked up more than $18 million in revenue since brick-and-mortar sports betting kicked off in Maryland in December.
The state's 15% cut which goes towards education came to nearly $3.2 million.
“It’s certainly not positioning Maryland as a market of strength in the country, it’s been seven months,” Linnehan said .
State officials estimate sports wagering will contribute about $30 million dollars a year to education funding once mobile gets the green light and more retail offerings open.
“When online sports betting launches, I mean in states that have online and retail sports betting, 90% of the revenue, 90% of the total handle, the total amount bet, is through online sports betting. The earliest Maryland can get this going the better,” Linnehan said .
With football pre-season already underway, the big question remains if Maryland sports fans will be able to be place their bets by Super Bowl Sunday.
“If it’s not done by the Super Bowl, it would be one of the biggest blunders in sports betting in this country. I have all the faith in the world that they will get something done by the Super Bowl, hopefully in late 2022,” Linnehan said
“I’m equally optimistic that we’ll get it done before the end of the calendar year so that people can get comfortable with it, well in advance of the playoffs and well in advance of the Super Bowl,” Martin said.
Even though the race and gender qualification was removed from the application drafts, the diversity study is still moving forward.
While the application drafts still have to be approved and don't specify to qualify race or gender on those drafts, each applicant for a mobile license or Class B facility license must demonstrate at least 5% of its direct or indirect ownership is by individuals with a personal net worth of not more than $1,847,000. It is the amount designated by the Maryland Department of Transportation to qualify a business as disadvantaged .
The SWARC meeting will be live-streamed on the General Assembly website here or it may be viewed at a later date on YouTube by selecting the meeting date here.
