The Maryland Constitution requires any change to gambling laws be accompanied by a statewide election voter referendum. The next one won’t occur until November 2020, meaning sports betting will be delayed by at least two years.<\/p>\n
However, politicians said last month they may have found a loophole. Lawmakers are considering placing sports betting under the oversight of the Maryland Lottery. New games under the lottery’s jurisdiction do not require voter referendums.<\/p>\n
\nHopefully, we can expand sports betting and dedicate that money to the education fund. That’s (sports betting) taking place in all the other states around us,” House Speaker Michael Busch (D-Anne Arundel County) said recently.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Maryland casinos are lobbying in the Annapolis capital for sports betting.<\/p>\n
The state projects that regulated sports betting would grow overall GGR by between 1.5 percent and 6.5 percent. That means sportsbooks could deliver as much as $110 million annually.<\/p>\n
State Wins<\/b><\/h2>\n
Marylanders approved commercial gaming in a 2008 constitutional referendum. The primary beneficiary is the state’s education system.<\/p>\n
In January 2019, the Maryland Education Trust Fund received nearly 30 percent of the GGR, or a little more than $41.5 million. Since gaming went live, the fund as received over $2.8 billion.<\/strong><\/p>\nCasino taxes also go to the horse racing industry, local host communities, the Maryland Lottery, and small, minority, and women-owned businesses. The state’s General Fund additionally receives a small percentage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maryland casinos won nearly $137 million last month, a 7.2 percent year-over-year increase. MGM National Harbor again was responsible for the lion’s share of gross gambling revenue (GGR). The casino resort outside DC won $56.2 million, or 41 percent of the state gaming market. Live! Casino & Hotel in Arundel Mills was next with $46.3 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":97888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,18,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Maryland Casinos Begin 2019 With Strong January, Win Totals $137M<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n