Maryland retail sports betting handle sets new record ahead of mobile launch
Maryland retail sports betting handle climbed to a new high of $39.7m in October.
US.- Maryland’s seven sportsbooks registered a sports betting handle of $39.7m in October, a 26.4 per cent increase compared to September’s $31.4m, and a new monthly record.
According to the report from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission, the October handle minus prizes left Maryland sportsbooks with a hold of $5.3m, or 13.4 per cent of wagers. Minus promotional play and other amounts, the taxable win was $5.2m.
The sports wagering tax of 15 per cent means the state collected $783,000 in taxes, most of which go to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund. Since the inception of Maryland’s sports wagering program in December 2021, tax revenue collected for the Blueprint fund totals $5.4m.
The retail sportsbooks that operate in Maryland are: Live! Casino, which operates a FanDuel Sportsbook; MGM National Harbor (BetMGM); Horseshoe Casino (Caesars Sportsbook); Ocean Downs Casino (TwinSpires); Hollywood Casino (Barstool Sportsbook); Bingo World and Riverboat on the Potomac.
See also: Maryland’s casinos set new gaming revenue record in October
Mobile sports betting in Maryland
Sports betting apps could be up and running in Maryland for the start of December. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission has sent ten applicants for final approval from the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC), which could award the licences this Wednesday. The SWARC moved up its meeting date, which was originally scheduled for next week.
“We had originally planned our next meeting to be November 21, but we’ve been working with our consultants from Taft Stettinius & Hollister and Spectrum Gaming Group to accelerate the pace and hold it earlier,” SWARC chairman Thomas Brandt said in a press release. “We thank them for their diligence and professionalism through this process.”
The ten operators who have been passed to the SWARC are Caesars Sportsbook, FanDuel, Betfred, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics, Parx, Barstool Sportsbook, PointsBet, BetRivers.
If the SWARC awards the licences, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency will make a final review. Each business must conduct a controlled demonstration, ensuring that its systems and internal control procedures are functioning correctly. After that, they will be able to start offering online sports betting. The initial start date for mobile wagering will be announced after SWARC has awarded licences.
Maryland Lottery and Gaming director John Martin said earlier this month. “If it takes them to the middle of November, it might be the first part of December. So it’s still going to be a little bit of a moving target but once those applicants are awarded and then issued licences we then see an ongoing, rolling process over the next several weeks after that.”
Maryland’s sports-betting law allows for up to 60 mobile sports betting licences to be issued, meaning there are still 50 potentially available.
