A trio of bills aimed at regulating legal sports betting continues their climb through the Maryland General Assembly.
The Old Line State is currently working to change laws in relation to colleges and universities not being able to profit off of partnerships with sportsbook operators.
Senate Bill 620 — which was presented by Sen. Shelly Hettleman — survived crossover day on Monday. It will move over to and be heard by the House Ways and Means Committee on March 30.
Hettleman’s bill wants to prohibit “institutions of higher education from entering into a contract with a certain regulated gaming entity or a certain agent of a regulated gaming entity if the institution of higher education receives certain compensation for student participation in certain sports wagering.”
Not only does Hettleman’s bill want to make it illegal for universities to accept money for students joining sports betting operators, but it would also force the higher institutions to publicly disclose the contracts created with sportsbooks.
There is also House Bill 802, which calls for similar action as SB 620, which passed its third reading on March 15 and was referred to the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee.
More regulations
Maryland lawmakers aren’t just looking to regulate sportsbooks, as they’re also going after handicappers.
SB 621 was introduced by Hetlleman and D-Sen. Craig Zucker last month as it intends on forcing the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency to license independent evaluators to “evaluate and rate certain sports wagering content provided by certain” experts and content providers relating to handicapping.
The goal of the bill is to identify and audit touts who provide false records or information. SB 621 was also crossed over Monday to the House and will be heard by the Ways and Means Committee on March 30.
Big business in 2023
Sports betting in Maryland consists of licensed 12 online sports betting sites and 10 retail locations, all of which have partnered with mobile operators.
Maryland began offering online sports betting in November of 2022 and has already recorded a handle of $780 million in the first two months of 2023.
The state reported revenue of $40 million in February, with $2.7 million in contributions going toward the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund.
