MD to Review Mobile Sports Betting Apps Case-by-Case for Possible 2022 Launch

• Maryland’s SWARC Voted to Review Mobile Sports Betting Apps as They Roll In
• Resident Gamblers Frustrated Waiting for Mobile Sports Betting Option
• Some Mobile Sportsbooks Could Launch in Maryland by Year’s End

In Maryland, it has been legal to bet on sports since the end of 2020, but only if you place your bets at a retail location in the state since the mobile market there is still ensconced in the regulatory process where applications for licenses to operate are under careful review.

Now the supervisory body in charge of reviewing those incoming mobile sports betting apps – the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission, aka the SWARC – has voted in favor of handling these applications as they are received instead of all at once at the deadline.

It’s an effort to speed things up after receiving multiple complaints that their process is moving too slowly, and Jim Nielsen, chief operating officer of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, feels bettors’ pain and applauds the commission’s latest move, saying:

We all know that the public was clamoring to get sports betting. We get comments about why it hasn’t launched every day. SWARC can make mobile sports betting available somewhat sooner by awarding licenses on a rolling basis.

Nielson has said that a “universal award date” would be too “risky” in the end, so it makes perfect sense to review these license applications on a case-by-case basis as they are submitted, something that SWARC Chairman Tom Brandt feels will expedite the process:

The tires are about to hit the road on us actually acting on applications.

The SWARC began receiving those applications starting on September 7 and they will allow them to be submitted up until October 21, this rolling review process that’s now officially in place meant to appease all the frustrated Maryland sports bettors.

Resident Gamblers Frustrated Waiting for Mobile Sports Betting Option

That mobile sports betting market in Maryland could not come soon enough for the gamblers there who are excited to bet on their Baltimore Ravens in the ongoing NFL season as well as the Baltimore Orioles while there are still a few games left in their MLB season.

Of course, bets on pro and college teams can be placed legally in Maryland but those wagers have to be made at one of these retail locations:

•       MGM National Harbor
•       Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland
•       Horseshoe Casino Baltimore
•       Ocean Downs Casino
•       Hollywood Casino Perryville
•       Bingo World

And since not every resident gambler lives close to one of those locations, placing sports bets becomes time-consuming enough that other options become more desirable, like using illegal local bookies or unregulated offshore sportsbooks that are accessible to them online.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan understands this, also infuriated with his state’s slow roll to a mobile launch, saying:

Marylanders have grown frustrated waiting for mobile sports wagering as they have watched it become available in state after state across the country, including our neighboring jurisdictions of Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Some Mobile Sportsbooks Could Launch in Maryland by Year’s End

The good news is now the SWARC will begin processing those license applications as they roll in which could mean some will launch by year’s end giving bettors there at least a few mobile options to choose from as they continue to place bets on their favorite players and teams.

The partial launch of Maryland’s legal mobile sports betting market looks to be just around the corner, so keep checking back for all the latest news and updates on this unfolding story.