Future Redskins Stadium Could Host Sports Betting

• Redskins Owner Dan Snyder wants sports betting at the new future Redskins Stadium.
• Sports betting is not yet legal in Maryland.
• Snyder says that he is willing to move the Washington Redskins to Virginia if necessary.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On Tuesday, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder told Maryland lawmakers that he wants his new stadium to have a sportsbook.

The Redskins currently play at the FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. Snyder has a vested interest in moving the Redskins to a new stadium. But he is not just interested in any new stadium. Snyder wants the next Redskins stadium to have legal sports betting available.

There is a problem with Snyder’s plan. Maryland sports betting currently does not exist. Knowing this, Snyder met with Maryland lawmakers to push for having the activity at his stadium.

The Odds For Maryland Sports Betting

During the 2019 legislative session, Maryland lawmakers did not push too hard for legal sports betting. Debate to legalize sports betting in Maryland was put on hold until the 2020 legislative session. Now that it is 2020, sports betting bills such as MD SB 58 will be discussed. So, Maryland lawmakers are already interested in getting sports betting legalized.

Snyder visited the lawmakers to push for sports betting to be legalized. To push for it to happen, Snyder threatened to pull the Redskins out of Maryland. The Maryland lawmakers did not seem to care too much about his threat.

“It wasn’t too high-pressured. Most of the people in the room were Ravens fans, so it sort of fell on deaf ears,” said an anonymous lawmaker to the Washington Post.

Virginia does not currently have sports betting either. Although lawmakers did pass off on a sports betting bill in 2019, there are still more steps needed to be taken. Lawmakers in Virginia need to pass the bill again during the 2020 legislative session. On top of that, voters in the state need will have the final say in November whether or not sports betting will come to Virginia.

This means that it is entirely possible that Snyder will not get his wish either way. It is possible that neither state will legalize sports betting this year and he will have to build the Redskins Stadium without a sportsbook. But it is also true that both states could have sports betting by the end of 2020.

News tags: Baltimore Ravens | Daniel Snyder | Maryland | MD SB 58 | Virginia | Washington Redskins