MD Commission Okays Two More Retail Sportsbook Apps; Dec. Launch Planned

• Thursday, MLGC Approved 2 Off-track Betting Facilities for Retail Sports Betting License
• Next Step: SWARC Review, Fee Paid, License Awarded
• MD’s Retail Sports Betting Launch “On pace … to happen in December”

Thursday, MLGC Approved 2 Off-track Betting Facilities for Retail Sports Betting License

Last Thursday, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission (MLGC) kept good on their promise to keep working towards a December launch of the state’s retail sports betting market by approving the applications for a sportsbook license for two more off-track betting facilities.

It’s one of the many steps that must take place for a Maryland business to qualify for and obtain one of the 47 licenses for retail books allowable in the state, a tedious process meant to ensure a wide variety of candidates are considered and chosen to offer legal sports betting there.

The two approved venues are:

• Riverboat on the Potomac, which is technically located in Colonial Beach, Va. But since its facilities are on the river in Maryland it qualifies.
• Long Shot’s in Frederick, an OTB betting parlor also serving food and adult beverages.

These two venues have minority and women owners, a factor considered critical to the MLGC and its director, John Martin, who said in a press release:

We’re extremely happy to see these two locally owned businesses move forward, and we’re eager to continue working with them in the coming weeks to launch their sports wagering operations.

But the journey towards taking that first bet is still a few steps removed.

Next Step: SWARC Review, Fee Paid, License Awarded

Now that these two applications have been MLGC approved, they will be sent on to Maryland’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC), the group that awards the licenses after another thorough review to ensure each candidate fulfills all the requirements set.

As we reported earlier in Five Maryland Casinos Finally Receive State Approval for Sports Betting, other Maryland venues have already made it through this process and now await the official launch so they can begin taking sports wagers:

• MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill
• Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover
• Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore
• Hollywood Casino in Perryville
• Ocean Downs in Berlin

They are now awaiting the MLGCC to issue each of them a sports wagering permit which happens once the lottery agency receives the $500,000 one-time upfront fee from each business.

All those pieces must be in place before an official launch can happen.

MD’s Retail Sports Betting Launch “On pace … to happen in December”

If all goes well and smoothly here in the Free State, the first bet could be placed and taken some time in December, a goal that MLGC Director Martin has made public, saying in his press release:

Everything is on pace for the first public openings to happen in December. The facilities and the public are eager to get started, and so are we.

Eager, most likely, because it is expected that, at full maturity, Maryland’s sports betting market could generate around $217 million in yearly action which could mean about $32.55 million in annual tax revenue for the state, money that could go towards making residents’ lives better.