Maryland gears up for egaming push
House speaker cites development of online gambling in memo for special session next week.
Online gambling is back on the legislative agenda in Maryland after the state’s house speaker alluded to the development of the industry in a memo ahead of a special session next week.
Democrat Michael Busch wrote that next Thursday’s session should help ensure that Maryland has a sustainable gambling programme in order to compete with surrounding states.
Its state neighbour New Jersey intends to pass online gambling regulation this year, while Delaware politicians approved online lottery, poker and casino-style games in June. Nearby Illinois has already made online lottery ticket sales legal and will make a second attempt to pass broader egaming laws later this year.
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has argued for state-by-state regulation in the past, claiming that federal law would destroy state lottery revenues and violate states’ long-standing gambling policy rights.
According to the Washington Post newspaper, Busch wrote in the memo that: “Since the voters overwhelmingly approved the establishment of a Maryland gaming programme in 2008, every surrounding state with a gaming programme has expanded to include table games and, in some cases, other forms of gambling.
“In order to maintain a healthy and competitive gaming programme that attracts players from beyond Maryland’s borders and keeps Maryland gamers at home, we must put our gaming programme on par with other jurisdictions in the Mid-Atlantic.”