Maryland sees first sports betting bill

The new sports betting bill is likely to be the first of many that will be introduced over the course of the year.

US.- A sports betting bill has been introduced in Maryland after the state voted in favour of legalising sports betting on the November 2020 ballot.

Maryland House of Delegates speaker Adrienne A. Jones has introduced House Bill 940, which would allow Maryland’s casinos and horse race tracks to apply for retail sports betting licences.

Venues would pay $250,000 for a Class A licence. Meanwhile, Class B licences would also be available for operators that aren’t classified as casinos or race tracks at a fee of $50,000.

The bill would also allow ten mobile sports betting licences for online-only operators. They would have a fee of $500,000.

All licences would be renewable every five years, with a cost of between $10,000 and $100,000.

The proposal also sets out a 15 per cent tax rate on sports betting revenue, although for mobile operators the tax would rise to 17.5 per cent on any revenue over $5m.

The bill is likely the first of many that will be introduced over the course of the year since voters in Maryland could not express at the ballot how they would like the state’s sports betting market to look.

Meanwhile, senator Bryan Simonaire has introduced Senate Bill 0243 which would see responsible gambling taught to high school students from the 2022 academic year.