Maryland’s online sports betting operators won’t have to wait to launch

Online sportsbooks will be allowed to accept bets as soon as they receive their licences.

US.- Maryland’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) has reported that mobile sports betting will be available sooner than expected. It’s decided to let online sportsbooks start operating as soon as they’re licensed instead of making them wait to launch together.

Operators must submit applications for online sports betting licences by October 21. The SWARC will have 45 days to review them. That means Maryland’s first sports betting apps could be up and running by late November or the first week of December.

Governor Larry Hogan signed a bill to legalise online and retail sports betting in Maryland last year after voters approved sports betting through a November 2020 referendum. Up to 60 mobile sports betting licences will be available.

Many states in the US have chosen to set official launch dates for all sports betting operators in order to ensure a level playing field. However, the SWARC took the decision to allow rolling launches following complaints that it was taking too long to get the marker started.

Jim Nielsen, deputy director & chief operating officer of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, said: “We all know the public has been clamouring for sports betting. We get comments on why it hasn’t started every day.”

Nielsen said that a common start day would have further delayed the regulatory process. Maryland already has retail sports betting operations by FanDuel, Caesars, BetMGM, PointsBet, Barstool, Twinspires, and BetRivers. All of these companies passed most of the extensive background checks required by the regulator.