Maryland Mobile Sports Betting Could be on Thanksgiving Menu

• MD’s Sports Wagering Commission Meets Wednesday to Approve Mobile Licenses
• Long Awaited Online Sports Betting Market Includes Ten Initial Operators
• Thanksgiving Launch Gives MD Bettors NFL and NBA Games to Wager On

MD’s Sports Wagering Commission Meets Wednesday to Approve Mobile Licenses

Maryland sports bettors might want to make some room on their Thanksgiving tables for a few legal online wagers since it looks like there might be a mobile market launch in that state just in time for the holidays, that’s according to the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission.

Nicknamed the SWARC, that regulatory body reviews applications for sports wagering licenses, and awards Class A-1 and A-2 facility licenses to large video lottery operators and specified major sports franchises in Maryland, all critical parts of launching a legal mobile market there.

That commission just announced that it will meet sooner than planned to approve a batch of mobile sports betting licenses, now gathering on Wednesday, November 15, to give the go-ahead to a group of mobile operators who have already applied to participate in that market.

A press release by SWARC Chair Tom Brandt explained how this change was made possible:

“We had originally planned our next meeting to be November 21, but we’ve been working with our consultants from Taft Stettinius & Hollister and Spectrum Gaming Group to accelerate the pace and hold it earlier. We thank them for their diligence and professionalism through this process.”

And thanks to the SWARC’s expedited regulatory process, ten operators should soon be taking mobile wagers there.

Long Awaited Online Sports Betting Market Includes Ten Initial Operators

As we reported last month in Maryland Gaming Commission Qualifies First 10 Mobile Sportsbooks, SWARC Next, these ten operators are in play here and each should have their applications reviewed at the current meeting:

• Barstool (Penn Sports Interactive)
• BetFred
• BetMGM
• BetRivers (RSI MD)
• Caesars (American Wagering)
• DraftKings (Crown MD Online Gaming)
• FanDuel (Betfair)
• Fanatics (FBG Enterprises Opco)
• Parx Interactive Maryland
• PointsBet

All trusted names in mobile sports betting thanks to plenty of usages by US bettors who live in the over thirty other states that have already legalized mobile and retail sports betting thanks to the Supreme Court overturning PASPA in May 2018 and handing that right over to the states.

Maryland bettors who have enjoyed the retail option since it was made legal in November 2020 and facilitated by April 2021 will no doubt want to start placing mobile wagers as soon as possible since two of the more popular pro sports leagues are already underway.

Thanksgiving Launch Gives MD Bettors NFL and NBA Games to Wager On

In the U.S., the National Football League (NFL) regular season started in September and will run until Super Bowl LVII is played on February 12, 2023, and meanwhile the National Basketball Association (NBA) season started in October, and it runs until the Finals in June.

Soon lucky Maryland gamblers will be able to make their football and basketball pro and college bets from the comfort of their own couches, perhaps with a belly full of holiday fare as the smell of warm American apple pie floats through the air thanks to SWARC’s speedy process.

SWARC Chair Brandt understands the importance of adding the online option to Maryland’s legal market:

“Mobile wagering will account for the bulk of the revenue from sports wagering, and we’re eager to enable Maryland to enter that market.”

That is exactly the type of attitude and energy for which Free State bettors can be truly thankful.