Maryland mobile sports betting nears end zone as 10 licenses granted

Update: This report has been updated with a Thursday announcement from Maryland Lottery and Gaming Agency Director John Martin about the mobile sports betting start date.

During a meeting at the State Lottery and Gaming Agency headquarters in Baltimore, the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission unanimously granted an initial 10 licenses to companies to sponsor mobile sports betting Wednesday.

The companies now must hold “controlled demonstrations” to test their systems, accepting wagers at specific times approved by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Agency, before they can accept bets from the general public.

“The last hurdle is for them to have controlled demonstrations,” Maryland Lottery and Gaming Agency Director John Martin said in a release Monday. In an agency meeting on Thursday, Martin said seven of the 10 licensees will launch on Wednesday, Nov. 23, pending the licensees meeting operational requirements.

NFL owner and casinos recipient of several licenses

Many of the companies who had licenses approved may be familiar to Marylanders, who voted in 2008 on whether to allow 15,000 slot machines at five locations throughout the state.

The Horseshoe Casino Baltimore had a license granted to CZR Maryland Mobile Opportunity LLC. Hollywood Casino Perryville had a license granted to PENN Maryland OSB LLC. And Live! Casino and Hotel in Anne Arundel County had a license granted to PPE Maryland Mobile LLC. Two other major casinos, Rocky Gap in Flintstone and Ocean Downs in Berlin, were not among the initial 10 companies to be granted a mobile sports wagering license.

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Maryland Stadium Sub LLC owned by Daniel Snyder, the current owner of the Washington Commanders football team, which plays its home games in Prince George’s County, Maryland, also received a mobile sports wagering license.

The National Council on Problem Gambling, an advocacy organization for those impacted by problem gambling, said in a 2020 release that the rate of gambling problems is higher among sports bettors and even higher when conducted online.

Hogan presses for mobile sports betting

Sports betting became legal in Maryland after over two-thirds of voters approved a 2020 referendum. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has pressed for mobile sports betting for many months.

“We have had to overcome countless legal, political and bureaucratic delays that threatened to push back the launch past the Super Bowl next year,” Hogan said in a release Monday. “It was completely unacceptable to me, and we spent months pressing for decisive action.”

Hogan said his administration is “cautiously optimistic” mobile sports betting will available be in time for Thanksgiving. Three National Football League games will be played on Thanksgiving Day this year. A total of $26.4 million for the state is projected from the 10 licensees during their first year of operation.

Arundel Amusements doing business as Bingo World, BetMGM Maryland Sports LLC, Crown MD Online Gaming LLC doing business as DraftKings, Greenmount OTB LLC, Long Shot’s LLC and Riverboat on the Potomac were the other companies granted licenses Wednesday.

The Sports Wagering Application Review Commission is scheduled to meet again Dec. 14. An additional 11 mobile sports wagering licenses are up for consideration.

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Maryland grants 10 licenses for mobile sports betting