Maryland Voters Approve Sports Betting

Voters in the state of Maryland approved a ballot measure on Nov. 3, officially legalizing sports betting, it passed by a margin of close to 70-30.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES, November 26, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Voters in the state of Maryland approved a ballot measure on Nov. 3, officially legalizing the state's sports betting industry. Ballot question 2 was the measure that was in front of voters, and it passed by a margin of close to 70-30.

Commercial gambling is already legal in Maryland, but passing ballot question 2 added sports and event wagering to the mix. Most experts predicted that this would be a close vote, but the final results did not reflect that.

Lawmakers in the state of Maryland were looking to pass a bill to allow for legal betting on sports in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic made that a challenging task. The two political parties were unable to come to an official agreement but wanted to leave the decision up to voters.

This has been a process taken up by several states, and Maryland was not the only state to legalize sports betting on Election Day. Now the question is, when will Maryland sports betting be available, and what will the industry look like?

The Mid-Atlantic portion of the United States has seen tremendous growth in the industry since 2018, and Maryland was the last state in this region without a legalized sportsbook. Even though ballot question 2 was passed, Maryland will head into 2021 without sports betting, but that could soon change.
Operators Help the Campaign
Lawmakers in Maryland were hopeful that voters would help amend the Maryland sports betting laws, but they also got some support from two of the industry's biggest names. DraftKings and FanDuel are both set to benefit from sports betting coming to Maryland, and these operators spent a ton of money trying to persuade voters.

These two competitors joined together to form a campaign called "Vote Yes on Question 2." DraftKings and FanDuel allocated $2.75 million to help fund this campaign. However, just over $2 million of that budget was spent.

This aggressive marketing campaign focused on television, radio, and direct mail campaigns to convince voters to "vote yes." It's unclear just how much impact this campaign had, but the operators were able to get the result that they wanted.

“We think this is a great opportunity for Maryland to bring revenue home from other nearby states that have authorized sports wagering,” FanDuel said in a statement to the Baltimore Sun. “We’re hopeful we can bring FanDuel Sportsbook to Maryland in 2021.”

When the Maryland sports betting industry officially opens for business, both DraftKings and FanDuel will likely be two of the Maryland sportsbooks that offer betting. Other competitors will look to join the market as well, but these two operators have already made a big splash with sports bettors in the state.

Hurdles Still Remain

Now that voters in the state have approved ballot question 2, it is up to lawmakers to create rules and regulations to guide the industry. This was tried in 2020, but there was not enough time to get things approved.

One of the biggest questions has already been answered, it seems, and Maryland will look to offer online betting. States that provide online betting have been much more successful than those that have launched without this offering.

The Maryland sports betting laws will need to outline how many sports betting licenses are available and what companies can apply for these licenses. It is safe to assume that all six commercial casinos will be granted a license, but professional sports stadiums could be given that chance as well.

This process will likely take several months before a final bill is passed through the legislature, but Maryland sports betting is expected to be live at some point in 2021. Expect the betting industry to launch before the start of the 2021 college football season, as football is the most popular betting option throughout the US.

Joseph Falchetti
SafestBettingSites.com
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