The sponsor of a bill in the Maryland state Senate that would have set up a referendum on the November election ballot to legalize sports betting in the state says lawmakers were close to passing the legislation, but ultimately could not work out differences in a session that was shortened due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill was nearing a conference to work out differences between Senate and House versions when the session ended prematurely. The bill would have legalized sports betting at four casinos, three racetracks and a potential new Washington Redskins stadium.
“I think if we had the three weeks, it absolutely would have made a difference,” Senator Craig Zucker, the bill’s sponsor, told Legal Sports Report. “I just don’t think we had enough time to work out the issues with the House, given that we were on a severely truncated schedule.
“In the Senate, we wanted to make sure it was as inclusive as possible. We had a bipartisan workgroup that worked out what the legislation would look like. That’s why it passed unanimously out of the Senate.”
Zucker noted that 1 percent of revenue from Maryland sports betting is set to go to the minority business enterprise program in the Senate bill came out of that bipartisan group.
“A lot of people worked to make this the best possible legislation to put in front of Maryland voters. We wanted to make sure it had a strong minority business enterprise component. Ultimately, this is about Marylanders deciding they want to have sports betting and making sure we’re funding children’s future.”
Zucker said the legislation could still be wrapped up before the election if the national emergency subsides. “The way the legislation finished is, it allows Marylanders to have a say on sports betting at the ballot box in November,” Zucker said. “If it’s their wisdom to move forward, we’ll decide what it looks like another day when we have more time.”
The stadium portion of the bill was meant to keep the NFL team in Maryland, as lawmakers fear the team will move to the District of Columbia, where sports betting is legal and Washington’s other two sports teams, the NHL Capitals and MLB Nationals, are both planning to add sportsbooks.
