The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission has approved partnership arrangements for five casinos with their respective sportsbook platform suppliers.
The partnerships are as follows:
- Barstool Sports, partner of Hollywood Casino in Perryville
- Caesars Sportsbook, partner of Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore
- FanDuel Sportsbook, partner of Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover
- BetMGM, partner of MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill
- TwinSpires, partner of Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin
All five companies have partnerships with sportsbooks sin at least three other states. All of the casinos’ sportsbook license applications have been forwarded by the commission to the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) for final approval.
However, SWARC has thus far dragged its feet on final approval, commenting at its last meeting that it was seeking further information from the applicants. The panel’s next meeting is this Thursday, November 18.
“We’re obviously disappointed by the lack of progress in yesterday’s SWARC meeting,” commented Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin to Baltimore station WJZ after the panel’s November 4 meeting, “but we’re pleased that we’ve moved forward in other areas. The delay is likely to push sports wagering back until after the New Year. At this point, we are hoping to make the NFL playoffs in January and the Super Bowl in February.”
If SWARC approves the licenses at its next meeting “and all goes well,” the casinos would be able to open sportsbooks by the start of 2022, Martin said.
