Maryland iGaming to be Considered Again in 2025
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A Maryland iGaming bill is being reconsidered by a familiar face.
The Maryland Ways and Means Committee will read State Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary’s (D-13) iGaming bill, HB 17, for the first time this week. Atterbeary pre-filed the iGaming bill on Oct. 16, 2024 and is the current chair of the Ways and Means Committee.
This is the second legislative session in a row Atterbeary has sponsored an iGaming bill in the Old Line State. She was the only lawmaker in the country in 2024 to further an iGaming bill out of its originating chamber when the Maryland House of Delegates approved her bill by a vote of 92-43 in March 2024.
Maryland iGaming Bill Details
Atterbeary is attempting to legalize iGaming throughout the state through a constitutional amendment, which would have to be approved by Maryland voters before becoming law. Maryland voters approved sports betting in November 2020 through a constitutional amendment as well.
If the bill is approved in the 2025 session, voters would not get the chance to approve the iGaming referendum until November 2026. The following question would appear on the 2026 ballot for voters to consider:
“Do you favor the expansion of commercial gaming in the State of Maryland to authorize Internet gaming for the primary purpose of raising revenue for education?”
If passed by voters, iGaming would not go live in the state until sometime in 2027.
Atterbeary’s bill sets the initial iGaming license fee at $1 million and licenses will be valid for five years. Any license holder will be required by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission to submit a diversity plan that “describes the steps that the licensee will take to promote the meaningful diversity among its owners, investors, managers, employees, and contractors to promote equality of opportunity.”
Specifically noted in her legislation is the ability for Maryland to enter into multi-jurisdictional agreements with other legal iGaming states.
The majority of iGaming tax revenue will be earmarked for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund.
House of Delegates Supported iGaming in 2024
Atterbeary submitted a similar bill in the 2024 session and successfully ushered it through the Maryland House of Delegates. Her bill, HB 1319, passed out of the House of Delegates by a 92-43 vote. The bill, needing a constitutional amendment to go into effect, narrowly eclipsed the necessary three-fifths majority to be approved.
Despite its approval, Senate leaders proved to have no appetite to tackle iGaming in 2024. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-46) and Senate Budget Taxation Chair Guy Guzzone (D-13) both immediately said the Senate would not hear an iGaming bill.
Atterbeary’s bill allowed for up to 30 iGaming licenses in the state at an initial application cost of $1 million. The licenses last for five years and include three tiers; those for brick-and-mortar casinos, those for Class B wagering facilities licensed for online sports betting, and between five to 18 competitively-awarded, untethered iGaming licenses.
Maryland’s six casinos would have been able to partner with up to three iGaming operators if the bill had been approved.
Robert Linnehan
Covering regulatory developments in online gambling. Editing/writing/creating a newsletter for readers across all formats.
