A bill allowing operators to accept wagers on sporting events, and permitting fantasy sports, will be passed on to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan having passed both houses of the state legislature.
The bill was approved yesterday (April 12) when the state House of Representatives voted 122-16 after Senate amendments were added to the bill.
Sports betting was approved in Maryland last year after voters backed the measure in a referendum. This followed the bill to organise the referendum passing by a landslide vote from the Maryland senate.
This bill – House Bill 940 – sets out details of how sports betting in the state will be operated. It requests that certain license holders accept sports wagering on particular events and that operators must apply to the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission to avail of certain licenses.
It also calls for the creation and installation of a Sports Wagering Application Review Commission to take charge of the license applications and the development of a free or low-cost gambling prevention program as per the Maryland Problem Gambling Fund.
Fantasy gaming also features in the bill, with operators needing to register with the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission under particular circumstances, meaning that the operator will have to pay a certain percentage of proceeds from competitions to the Commission, if the bill in enacted.
If the bill faces no further opposition, it is set to take effect on June 1 2021.