Voters Say Yes To Sports Betting In Maryland: 2021 Launch?

• Maryland voters have approved sports betting in a 2-1 margin.
• Sports betting in Maryland will likely not start until the latter half of 2021.
• Maryland lawmakers still have to hash out the details of sports betting, such as tax rates and more.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Although the presidential election is still not decided, Maryland has firmly said yes and has legalized sports betting.

At the time of this writing, Maryland does not have all the votes in for the Presidential election quite yet. But with 80 percent of the votes in, Maryland voters said yes to make sports betting legal in the state with a 2-1 ratio. That means even if the rest of the votes come up no, sports betting in Maryland is a lock in for the state.

Maryland sports betting is now legal, but there is still a long process that needs to happen before sportsbooks can officially open in the state. Voters have successfully amended the constitution to allow sports betting to be legalized in Maryland. However, they did not vote in a specific bill to make sports betting happen.

There are still a lot of missing details that are needed before sportsbooks can open. For example, there is no tax rate for sports betting in Maryland. There are also no details to how many sportsbooks can open in Maryland or where people can place their bets. These details are necessary to make sure that sports betting happens in Maryland.

Even though the details still need to be hashed out, that does not mean that potential sports betting companies are not jumping at the opportunity to open a sportsbook.

“We look forward to our continued work with the legislature on a bill,” said Jorge Perez, President of MGM National Harbor. “We have many customers that request this amenity.”

It is more than likely that more casinos and other potential sportsbook venues will pop up and become interested in opening up their own sportsbook. For now, everyone will have to wait to get legal sports betting in Maryland.

Lawmakers in Maryland must reconvene and hash out all the necessary details to make sports betting in Maryland happen. This process could take a couple of months, making it most likely that sportsbooks will open in Maryland in the latter half of 2021.

News tags: 2020 Election | Jorge Perez | Maryland | Maryland sports betting | MGM National Harbor