It could not immediately be learned how many of the 10 initial mobile gambling companies have a minority or female owner, but Frank Turner, a former state delegate and SWARC member, said several do. To advance those goals, several of the initial batch of applicants followed a 95/5 model, where an established sports gaming entity owns nearly all of their Maryland start-up, with a local partner coming aboard as a minority shareholder. Because the legislature was committed to the state having a diverse set of license-holders, regulators had to conduct a study to determine what barriers-to-entry might exist for minority- and female-owned companies. Maryland has trailed other states in standing up its sports wagering industry. He conceded that “it’s taken us a while to get to this point.” “Mobile will account for the bulk of the wagering from sports wagering and we’re eager to enable Maryland to enter that market,” said SWARC Chair Tom Brandt.

It’s expected that the go-ahead will come in time for the Thanksgiving Day slate of NFL games. Once that occurs, they will receive the all-clear. The applicants approved on Wednesday must undergo system testing by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Agency. Maryland voters approved a referendum on the subject in 2020 and a small number of companies - mostly casinos - began accepting on-site bets on sporting events last December.īut bettors have waited eagerly for the ability to place bets at any hour of the day on their mobile devices. The Supreme Court cleared the way for states to allow sports wagering in 2018.

The vote represented a key step in a time-consuming journey.

Applicants were the subject of rigorous examination prior to the vote, officials said. The Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) approved all 10 unanimously, with virtually no public discussion. The applications represented an interesting mix of the industry’s big-name players and locally-based firms. The move sets the stage for Marylanders to place legal bets on their phones for the first time, perhaps as early as next week. State regulators approved applications from 10 mobile sports wagering companies on Wednesday.

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