Days after the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission took action to begin licensing three state casinos for in-person sports betting, Gov. Larry Hogan urged state residents to push for the launch of in-person sports betting during the NFL season.

Hogan took to his Twitter account and asked Maryland residents to email the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) to allow football season betting to begin as soon as possible.

Maryland in-person sports betting for football season?

Hogan signed the state’s sports betting bill back in May, officially legalizing online and in-person sports betting in Maryland. However, progress has been slow since the bill’s signing, and in-person sports betting still does not have a concrete date for when it will begin.

Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin said he hopes the state can begin to accept in-person sports bets “by late fall,” but casinos must first be licensed to open their sportsbooks to the public.

The Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, Live! Casino and Hotel in Hanover and MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill all met the qualification requirements for sports wagering license. The applications for the three casinos will be forwarded to SWARC, which is responsible for awarding the licenses.

The three casinos were among 17 entities designed in the sports wagering bill to conduct sports wagering operations. In August, SWARC voted unanimously that the MLGCC’s qualification standards would be sufficient to award sports betting licenses to the 17 designated entities.

First sports betting licenses awarded this month?

SWARC next meets on Thursday, Oct. 14, where the licenses may potentially be awarded. The Maryland Lottery Gaming Control Agency (MLGCA) will ensure the three entities have finalized their internal controls and other operational requirements before receiving the licenses.

All three casinos have agreed to partnerships with qualified sportsbook operators to handle their in person and online sports betting programs. The partnerships are as follows:

• Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore partnered with Caesars.
• Live! Casino and Hotel in Hanover partnered with FanDuel.
• MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill partnered with BetMGM.

No timeline for online sports betting has yet to be laid out by Maryland representatives. A request for comment to Gov. Hogan’s office for online sports betting’s launch date was not returned.

https://saturdaytradition.com/sports-gambling/gov-hogan-pushes-for-maryland-in-person-sports-betting-launch/