Maryland governor signs sports betting bill
The bill, approved in November 2020 in a referendum, needed the signature of the governor to be implemented, allowing sports betting and mobile betting in the state.
US.- Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has signed the bill that legalises sports betting in the state.
Sports betting was approved in Maryland in November after a referendum in which voters backed the measure.
The bill was then passed by the Senate, with some amendments including a licence classification system.
The state was hoping for sports betting to be available later this year in time for the World Series and for professional teams to be offering betting in time for Super Bowl LVI in February.
What does the Maryland sports betting bill allow?
The law allows the state to deliver four different types of retail licences, plus a licence for mobile betting.
A Class A-1 licence for an operator of more than 1,000 video lottery terminals (VLTs), such as the state’s land-based casinos, or any NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS or NHL team based in the state. This licence carries a fee of $2m.
A Class A-2 licence, costing $1m, for the Maryland Jockey Club or an operator of 1,000 or fewer VLTs.
A B-1 license for a bingo or simulcast racing operator with more than 25 employees and $3m in gross receipts. The fee is $250,000.
Any other simulcast or bingo operator will be able to apply for a B-2 licence, with a $50,000 fee.
The state may issue a maximum of 60 licences, of which up to 30 may be Class B licences.
A mobile sports betting licence, which would only be available to a holder of a retail betting licence, carries a $500,000 fee. Each mobile licensee may only contract with a single mobile operator to offer one online “skin”.
All types of operators will be required to pay 15 per cent of revenue in tax.
The approval of sports betting is expected to generate more than $18m in revenue for Maryland from in-person and mobile sports betting in fiscal year 2022, according to a fiscal summary of the bill.
