Following a session in which the legislature balked at protections against problem gambling, Maryland’s sports betting market has continued to grow and last month generated nearly $7 million for public education.
While state contributions have risen along with the number of companies licensed to operate in Maryland, so, too, has concern about transparency between operators and potential bettors and about rates of problem gambling.
May’s revenue ranks second only to January’s $8.2 million — driven by the NFL playoffs — among monthly contributions from sports betting since the state launched its market in December 2021. It also represented a 50% increase over what the state received in May of last year.
After a dip from January to February, sports betting revenue has increased each of the past three months, though it’s expected to decrease from May to June.
“Our market in Maryland has largely matured, and there is typically less wagering activity in the spring and summer, but May was a strong month,” John Martin, director of the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, said in a statement Tuesday. “The NBA playoffs and interest in the Orioles probably had a lot to do with that.”
Looking to rein in parts of an industry that’s ballooned nationwide in recent years, state Senate Democrats last session pushed to require that operators advertising in Maryland contract with a licensed independent evaluator and receive a rating based on their content and the experts or influencers with whom they partner.
Maryland lawmakers previously authorized the Lottery and Gaming Control Commission — part of the state agency that regulates and oversees sports betting and other gambling markets — to license independent evaluators to rate sports gambling content.
Led by Sen. Craig Zucker and Senate President Bill Ferguson, state senators felt the measure didn’t do enough to protect people from deceptive marketing and advertising around sports betting. Despite passing unanimously in the Senate, the measure stalled in the House of Delegates.
A spokesperson for the Sports Betting Alliance, which represents four of the country’s leading betting operators in BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, and FanDuel — each of which operates in Maryland — contended that the legislation was “premature,” would’ve added unnecessary regulations and would’ve failed to protect consumers.
A push to divert 1% of sports betting revenue to help fight problem gambling has also met a lack of consensus in the legislature.
Lawmakers set up a problem gambling fund in 2007 with the legalization of casino gambling, but as the state has rolled out other forms of betting, they haven’t added revenue streams for the fund.
Unclaimed prize money from in-person sports betting goes to problem gambling resources, but 98% of money wagered on sports in Maryland is through mobile apps, which automatically pay out winners.
Mary Drexler, the director of operations for the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling, previously wrote to lawmakers that a dedicated funding stream would help the center boost marketing to counter the gambling industry’s multibillion-dollar campaigns.
It would also help the center attract more treatment providers to the state’s no-cost network and launch public awareness campaigns to target people who are especially prone to problem gambling, like veterans with PTSD, Drexler wrote.
Improving relationships and continuing discussions with state and local legislators is among the public policy goals the center listed in its latest annual report, and it remains to be seen whether the push for more funding will find the support it needs next year.