United States
United Kingdom
Summary:
- HB 1319 would allow a vote on iGaming.
- The bill must be approved by March 18 to move forward.
- As many as 30 iGaming licenses may be on offer.
The next state to possibly legalize iGaming in the United States is Maryland. Lawmakers have been working for quite some time to bring legislation to the forefront for a resident vote.
Right now, a house bill is waiting for approval, and if it moves through to the final stages, voters can decide in November.
House Bill 1319
After a major overhaul of the bill language, House Bill 1319 was able to move through committee and make it to a full House vote. It must be voted on and passed by March 18 to move on to the Senate for consideration.
The bill still has a long way to go, but if approved overall, it would give state residents a chance to decide whether iGaming should come to fruition. The bill’s sponsor is Vanessa Atterberary, the House Ways & Means Committee chair.
Atterbeary started the amendments to the bill, which included increasing the number of available licenses from 12 to 30. There will also now be a ban on credit cards for iGaming funding. Players will not be able to use a credit card to make a gaming deposit. Another stipulation was added to ensure the license pool is diverse and inclusive.
Additional Bill Details
The measure was also updated to ensure the existing casinos in Maryland are cared for regarding licensing. A tiered process will be included that gives each casino up to three skins for gaming. However, they must share 5% of the gaming revenues with a social equity applicant partner. This must be done before the license can be granted.
A second skin can be attained by offering 33% in revenue sharing, which unlocks access to a third license. For an applicant to meet the social equity criteria, they would need to have attended public school in an economically disadvantaged area for five years within the past ten years. The individual must also have attended two years at a four-year college where 40% or more of students were eligible for a pell grant.
The social equity applicant must also have a personal net worth that does not exceed a number determined by the state Lottery and Gaming Commission.
The tax rates of the measure have remained unchanged. There is a 55% rate for slots and table games online, and live dealer games are taxed at 20%.
Now, we wait and see if the House can pass the measure and move it on to the Senate over the new few days. The window is tight and may not be reachable if there is not enough support for the measure.
