Following the official legalization of online sports betting in Maryland, the government is considering the possibility of legalizing online casino play as well.
On Wednesday, Senators Ron Watson and Nancy King introduced an online casino bill to the government.
State of bill submission
The bill's introduction is the first attempt to officially legalize online casinos in the state, and the beginning of a long road full of obstacles.
The bill would allow online games offered by six video lottery operators located in Maryland.These operators are: They are MGM National Harbor, Horseshoe Casino, Live! Casino and Hotel, Ocean Downs, Rocky Gap Casino Resort and Hollywood Casino.
Each of these operators will begin offering retail sports betting very late in 2021, followed by the debut of their online sportsbook in Maryland in 2022.
Regarding the rationale for introducing the bill, Senator Watson said: “Especially now, as people start to see the returns they can make from sports betting, I think we've passed the hesitation and realized that casinos are so valuable to the economy here in Maryland. If sports are no longer possible, the money earned from existing casinos will be zero, which is very unfortunate.However, if online games can be introduced, it will be a positive effort to improve Maryland's education system. It gives us another source of income to fund our ongoing efforts.”
"We have checked with the Maryland Attorney General's Office and have been told that online casinos are an extension of gaming in Maryland," it said.
“The Maryland Constitution requires voter approval for the expansion of commercial gambling.
“So, after winning two-thirds of the votes in each legislative assembly, the issue of licensing online casinos in Maryland must come before voters in the November 3 general election.”
Contents of the online casino bill
The online casino bill consists of 10 pages.A key element of the bill relates specifically to enabling video lottery operators to offer online games.
オンラインカジノを規制するために、State Lottery and Gaming Commissionを指定する。
初期ライセンス料を5年間50万ドルとする。
ライセンス更新料として、過去3年間の平均年間売上高の1％を追加。
オンラインカジノの収益に15％の税金を課す。
事業者は、税金を支払う前に、無料プレイとプロモーション・クレジットを収入から差し引くことができます。
州税収入から規制費用を差し引いた金額を教育信託基金に充てる。
連邦で合法であれば、知事が複数管轄のゲーミング協定を締結することを認める。In this regard, Watson said: "This is the current design.
"We've looked at other states and come up with a framework that the billmakers can codify. We have two years to get this out, so there's a lot of flexibility in what it ends up looking like." .”
Legalizing online poker as a priority of the bill
For Watson, the primary purpose of introducing the bill to the government is to officially legalize online poker in Maryland.
However, according to Watson, online poker is not specifically mentioned in the bill, but it falls under "casino-style games."
On this point, he said: “Ever since I first entered Congress as a state legislator in 2019, it has been my goal to introduce an online casino bill. We wanted to include the jurisdiction compact in the bill.
“I've played at PartyPoker and PokerStars, tabled and taken lessons with poker greats like Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson and Annie Duke.
“Don't get me wrong, I love casinos, but I've been playing poker for a long time. I've played in small events, and it's nice to be in the lead after playing poker for so many years.”
“I still have a lot of friends who play online with the free PokerStars application. I think there are a lot of people in Rand who do that too.
“People are already playing online, so why not legalize and regulate it?”
Reducing problem gamblers in bill
One of the major issues that will be regulated if the bill is passed is problem gamblers.Here are some of the key elements of the bill related to reducing problem gamblers.
ライセンシーが、ギャンブルへの参加を禁じられている人やその他のリスクのある人に対して広告を出すことを禁止する。
ユーザーがアカウントにログイン・ログアウトする際に、ギャンブル依存症問題のホットラインを表示することを義務付ける。
ユーザーが特定の期間内に入金する金額を制限し、任意の期間、インターネットゲーム活動を一時的に停止するメカニズムを持つことを要求しています。
毎年9月1日までに、州宝くじ・ゲーム委員会は、州内の問題ギャンブラーおよびギャンブル依存症に対するインターネットゲームの影響について、知事および総会に報告しなければならない。Year of introduction of bill
In addition to the issues discussed above, the bill also targeted minority-owned facilities in Maryland.
However, he does not expect the bill to pass this year, but believes it will pass next year.So far, the bill has been sent to the Senate Budget and Tax Committee, with no outcome yet.
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