Maryland studies sports betting market
The state is studying the benefits that sports betting could bring by observing its neighbours.
US.- Sports betting has been legalised for over two months, paving the way for states to decide if they want to legislate and regulate the modality. While the majority of the states that have legalised or expressed its intentions to do so are located on the East Coast, Maryland is still considering all its options.
Neighbouring state Delaware has been the first one to open the sports betting market after the US Supreme Court ruling in May, but it’s not like it rushed the decision as it already had in place all necessary legal and regulatory authority to move forward with a full-scale sports gaming operation.
Bill Fasy, president of Delaware Park, said that he believes they have 78 per cent of the sports betting market in Delaware. Ultimately, that means that Maryland could be losing revenue to its neighbouring states if it doesn’t come up with a regulation. Delegate Frank Turner said: “Money on the table is money on the table, and we don’t want to turn money down that we could bring in from sports gaming.”
Turner is co-chair of the joint-committee on Gaming Oversite and explained that the bill that would allow sports betting in the state has been already passed, but it still needs a special session and get it on the 2018 ballot to let voters decide. “But we need to have it on the ballot, so we don’t lose the revenue that we could lose over the next two years from sports gaming,” Turner said.
In order for Maryland to have a special session to discuss the matter, Governor Larry Hogan needs to call it, even though the General Assembly failed to pass legislation this past session. Nevertheless, he supports the debate that would pave the way for a legalised sports betting market in the state, and he believes that it would come up again during next session, which would mean that it could be included on the ballot in 2020.
