Two more Maryland businesses have qualified for consideration for a sports wagering license, according to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission, which oversees casinos and sports wagering in the state.
The businesses, one of which has plans to open a betting facility inside the bar Sports and Social in North Bethesda, must get additional approval before opening to bettors.
It’s not yet clear when the businesses may begin accepting wagers, commission spokesman Seth Elkin said in a phone interview Monday. Timelines will depend on how prepared each business is to complete the operational and technical requirements that remain, he said.
A third applicant, iGamingCloud, qualified last week as an online sports wagering operator and will not need further approval, according to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission.
Rather, iGamingCloud is now eligible to partner with Crab Sports, which received a license in February and has announced a sports betting partnership with longtime Baltimore restaurant Jimmy’s Famous Seafood.
Maryland’s 10 retail and eight mobile sportsbooks generated $2.8 million for the state in February, with 96% of the revenue coming from mobile betting, according to the commission.
State revenue from sports wagers was $2.1 million January and about $440,000 in December.
Whitman Gaming qualified with the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission on Thursday to open a sportsbook at Sports and Social.
Betfair Interactive US, also known as FanDuel, is expected to be the sports wagering operator for the facility as part of an agreement between Whitman Gaming and PPE Casino Resorts, a news release from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission stated.
FanDuel operates PPE’s mobile sportsbook and its retail sportsbook at Live! Casino in Hanover.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission also approved the Veterans Services Corp. for a mobile sports wagering license.
Both Whitman Gaming and the Veterans Services Corp. still need approval from the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission, which is scheduled to meet April 19 and “may consider awarding licenses at that time,” the news release states.
A license from the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission, though, won’t allow the businesses to immediately begin taking wagers.
Both Whitman Gaming and the Veterans Services Corp. will have to complete controlled demonstrations with the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission before opening for bets.
The state has required that each sportsbook contribute 15% of its taxable win to a fund for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a plan for comprehensive education reform that includes increasing funding for schools by $3.8 billion each year over the next decade, according to the Maryland State Department of Education.
Between its inception in December 2021 and March 10, 2023, Maryland’s sports wagering program had generated $11.5 million for the blueprint, according to the commission.
