Gaming Commission Approves Maryland’s Sports Betting Regulations

• Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission Approves Sports Betting Regulations
• Public Comment Period Next with No Start Date Yet Decided
• License Applicants Expected from Wide Variety of Businesses

MD Gaming Commission Approves Sports Betting Regulations

As expected, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission unanimously approved a draft of the betting regulations on Thursday in a planned teleconference we reported on earlier, opening the way towards legal sports betting in the state.

These regulations outline how the licensing process and betting operation will be run in the state including the equipment that will be used, the types of fees that will be charged, and which specific customers will be allowed to participate.

It took 228 pages to outline these regulations, but they received unanimous approval by the commission, a sign that everyone is anxious to move on to the next step of this lengthy process to get legal sports betting up and running in the Old Line State.

Public Comment Period Next with No Start Date Yet Decided

Now that the draft of betting regulations has been approved, the commission will allow the public to comment on these rules, an important part of the procedure that gives Maryland citizens a say in how their state’s sports gambling operation will be run.

No specific start date for receiving these comments has been set yet, but once it has been decided upon the commission will announce it on its website and then the public will have thirty more days from then to make its remarks.

Once those public comments have been considered by the commission, a final draft of the regulations will then need to be made operational and afterward potential operators should be able to begin the process of applying for a license.

The criteria by which these applicants will be judged will vary but expect diversity and a clean legal history to top the list.

License Applicants Expected from Wide Variety of Businesses

Potential licensees in Maryland will first have to pass muster by a newly-created group called the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC), plus they will receive a thorough background check by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming agency.

Priority will be given to operators with the best business plans and locations but also being considered is anyone who can help the state reach a healthy racial, ethnic, and gender balance, the overall goal being to ensure a level of diversity that satisfies the varied citizens of Maryland.

This means that not only the large casinos will have a shot at one of these licenses, but also sports teams and restaurants and whatever female- and minority-owned businesses might want to delve into this potentially lucrative business.

Gwen McCall, who co-owns a Maryland construction company, would love a fair shot at one of these licenses, telling the media:

Sports betting is an area where minorities and people of color contribute a lot to it, but there’s no real ownership among African Americans. This, without a doubt, could be a game-changer.

Though no specific launch date has been announced yet, legal sports betting in Maryland is expected by the end of 2021 in time for the latter part of the upcoming NFL season.