Maryland Online Sports Betting

Maryland gambling law currently provides for a number of regulated gambling markets, including traditional casino gaming. Early Maryland was built on gaming revenue. As in other colonies, Maryland needed to raise money quickly to build infrastructure, and raffles and lottery-style games, were part of Maryland’s early history.

An increased interest in revenue from commercial gaming has prevailed in Maryland with lotteries, casino games, legalization of slot and video poker machines and Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) all becoming legal in the last 10-15 years.

In May 2020, the Maryland Sports Bill became law and the state put a vote to the public on a ballot referendum in November 2020. Voters overwhelmingly approved the measure, and in 2021, Maryland’s first sportsbook opened. Just before Thanksgiving in 2022, Maryland approved online sportsbooks with several big names joining the roster. Now Maryland fans can bet from the comfort of their own home using their phones or other portable device in the same style as the best sports betting sites for New Jersey.

Maryland recent mood for gambling expansion sees the state offering the gambler a healthy mix of legal options in DFS, online horse racing, casinos, live racing, live and video poker, charitable gambling and now, legal sports wagering.

Maryland Residents; 24.0% federal and between 2% to 5.75% on state tax on gambling winnings.

Large gambling wins over $500 in Maryland may possibly attract an additional Federal Tax.

Contact your tax attorney to assess your potential Federal tax liability if you have a big win in Maryland.

Maryland adheres to the standard minimum legal gambling ages that are present across the mid-Atlantic and the North-East of the United States, notably 21 year-of-age for casino gambling and 18 years-of-age for DFS, horse racing, the state lottery and charitable gaming.

The state of New Jersey won its challenge in May 2018 to the federal government ban on sports betting. Overnight, sports betting laws were ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court to be handed back-to-each-state to decide for themselves. Many of Maryland’s neighbors, including  Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have joined Nevada and New Jersey as states with legalized sports betting.

Maryland’s state legislators hinged their decision on answers to the twin questions ‘is sports betting legal in Maryland?’ and ‘is online sports betting legal in Maryland?’ to the people in a state-wide referendum to be held on in November 2020 under enacted state law SB4. Maryland’s voters brought legal sports betting home with a resounding 66.6% to 33.4% result.

Legal sports betting passed the vote in Maryland by a 2-1 margin under a statewide referendum on the ballot in 2020.The sports betting referendum was a straightforward yes-or-no question and the vote carried no specifics about what sports wagering would look like.

In December 2021, the first physical sportsbook location opened in the state, and several others have opened since then. Online sports betting made its debut in November of 2022 with several prominent online sportsbooks joining the market. The way Maryland wrote its sports betting laws, more sportsbook apps should be joining. 

Maryland’s residents and visitors can also enjoy the sports betting options of DFS and horse and greyhound racing.

U.S. Federal Law legalizes Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) competitions as they are considered to be a contest of skill, rather than a gambling game of chance. Many state governments have taken the Federal ruling onboard and have ruled DFS to be a part of their state laws.

Maryland is no exception. While the law has undergone several incarnations since state lawmakers first legalized DFS in 2012 under Section 12-114 of the Maryland State Code, the implicit understanding has always been that DFS betting is not considered to be gambling.

All major DFS companies are able to legally accept players from Maryland in their real money DFS competitions.

Now that legal online sports betting for citizens of Maryland is a reality, eSports betting’s legality will transform betting in the Old Line State. Winning exciting eSports wagers in new ways through betting markets never experienced before will create a potentially record-setting new tax revenue stream for Maryland.

What are eSports?

Since the earliest days of video games, there’s always been a competitive side to the game play and players have always desired to rank themselves with their colleagues. eSports is the blanket term for these electronic sports events.

Now, professional video game play at the top level, (i.e.eSports) has given rise to wagering on the outcomes of the rich and widespread global tournaments.

eSports is now a huge and growing industry, where pros play an official network of professional gaming tournaments playing games like Overwatch, Starcraft II, FIFA 18/19 and Fortnite). With its roots in groups of close friends hosting marathon LAN parties, the eSports industry shows no signs of diminishing in popularity. The global eSports market will cross the $1 billion per annum barrier in 2018/19 and with every tournament, entrance tickets become harder to get.

There is big money to be made of course, and where there is big money, sportsbooks follow. Worldwide sportsbooks now offer betting markets across all the big eSports tournaments.

Expect to see eSports betting in Maryland soon at your favorite legalized sportsbook.

Maryland is home to the second jewel of the famed Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes in Baltimore, so horse racing is embedded the fabric of the state. Maryland has a historic heritage with horse racing (the Maryland Jockey Club was founded in 1743), residents of, and visitors to the state of Maryland have a great range of legal options for on course and off-track betting locations and online horse racing betting sites.

Trackside Betting

Maryland is home to a pair of thoroughbred racing tracks: Laurel and iconic Pimlico, and a one thoroughbred half-mile track: Timonium, which runs concurrent with the Maryland State Fair. There are two standardbred tracks: Rosecroft and Ocean Downs and one steeplechase track: Fair Hill.

Off Track Betting (OTB) in Maryland

The small state of Maryland currently offers six OTB locations according according to the Maryland Racing Commission, although there is no legal impediment to the number of OTBs available and occasionally OTB’s are open for service (under state license) at county fairs.

Online Horse Racing in Maryland

Most online horse racing betting sites operating in the United States accept customers from the Old-Line State and offer real money betting action on all the big U.S. races (the Preakness Stakes and the rest of the Triple Crown, Breeder’s Cup, etc.) and international horse racing.

Visit Our Gambling in Maryland page for more information on the states gambling laws and reviews of the Top online casinos licensed in the Old Line State