Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin shared some sobering news today in regards to the potential Maryland in-person sports betting launch.

After telling Saturday Tradition he hoped in-person sports betting would launch in the late fall, Martin said today in a press release that sports betting will be pushed back to the start of 2022 due to recently delays from the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC).

Maryland in-person sports betting delayed until 2022

“We’re obviously disappointed by the lack of progress in yesterday’s SWARC meeting, but we’re pleased that we’ve moved forward in other areas,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin in a release. “The delay is likely to push sports wagering back until after the New Year. At this point, we are hoping to make the NFL playoffs in January and the Super Bowl in February.”

Applications for sports betting licenses of five casinos were expected to be approved at yesterday’s SWARC meeting. However, following a nearly two-hour closed session to the public, the SWARC is requesting supplemental ownership information from the applicants.

SWARC Chairman Tom Brandt said he expects action to be taken on the five applicants at SWARC’s next meeting on Monday, Nov. 18.

MLGCC approves five sports wagering operator partners

The Maryland Lottery Gaming Control Commission today approved sports wagering operator partners of the five casinos that are all awaiting license approve. These partners do not require approval from SWARC.

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming staff determined that all five companies are qualified because they each have sports wagering licenses from at least three other states with standards that are similar to those in Maryland.

The companies and the casinos of which they are partnered are as follows:

  • Barstool Sports, partner of Hollywood Casino in Perryville
  • Caesars Sportsbook, partner of Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore
  • FanDuel Sportsbook, partner of Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover
  • BetMGM, partner of MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill
  • TwinSpires, partner of Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin

“We’re making progress on as much of this as we can now, but we’ll still need time to work through a number of procedures with each facility, even after the license are awarded — it could take up to 30 to 45 days,” Martin said. “If the SWARC awards the licenses on Nov. 18 and all goes well, that would mean a launch date somewhere around the first of the year.”

The five casinos were among 17 entities designated in the approved sports wagering bill to conduct sports wagering operations. In August, SWARC voted unanimously that Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission’s qualification standards would be sufficient to award sports betting licenses to the 17 designated entities.