Marylanders will be able to place sports wagers in five casinos by the end of 2021. After three casinos launched retail sports betting offerings last week, two more have plans to launch before the end of December.
Ocean Downs Casino (TwinSpires) plans to launch before the end of the week, and Hollywood Casino (Barstool Sportsbook) hopes to launch on Dec. 23. MGM National Harbor (BetMGM), Live! Casino (FanDuel), and Horseshoe Casino Baltimore (Caesars) all launched last week, signaling the start of legal sports betting in Maryland.
I’ll be donating the winnings from my historic bet @LiveCasinoMD to the @MDFoodBank. https://t.co/ny0HZCGpn3
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) December 12, 2021
Off-track betting (OTB) facilities Riverboat-on-the-Potomac (PointsBet) and Long Shot’s plan to launch their retail sportsbook offerings in early 2022. Long Shot’s has yet to announce a partnership deal with a sportsbook operator, but that reveal is expected soon.
Ocean Downs Casino launch set for Friday
Located in Berlin, Md., Ocean Downs Casino plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch its retail sportsbook Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET. The site held a controlled demonstration on Tuesday, and the entity’s second day of controlled demonstrations is Thursday. Assuming everything goes well, the casino will be ready to offer retail sports betting Friday.
Ocean Downs Casino (TwinSpires) will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow evening as it launches its retail sports betting operation in Maryland. https://t.co/R9e2A9rhQ3
— Bennett Conlin (@BennettConlin) December 16, 2021
“Our first day went fairly well,” Bobbi Sample, Ocean Downs Casino’s general manager, said during Thursday’s lottery commission meeting. “We’ve made a couple of adjustments, and we’re looking forward to a successful demonstration today and targeting to go live on Friday with the ribbon-cutting at 5:30.”
Ocean Downs was awarded a license by the state’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) on Nov. 18, which was the same date MGM National Harbor, Live! Casino, and Horseshoe Casino received their respective licenses.
Hollywood Perryville to launch next week
Hollywood Casino Perryville also received its license from the SWARC on Nov. 18, and the casino is nearly ready to launch its retail sports betting operation. Hollywood Casino plans to go through the final stages of the regulatory approval process early next week.
“Our controlled demonstrations are Monday and Wednesday,” Timothy Shea, vice president of operations at the casino, said during the lottery commission meeting. “We hope with everything going well with regulatory approval that we’ll go live on the 23rd. First quarter of 2022, we’ll begin construction of our permanent sportsbook, which is Barstool Sportsbook.”
The construction project for the permanent sportsbook is expected to take about a month to complete. Until then, customers can use the entity’s temporary option.
Greenmount moves through application process
Greenmount OTB, located in Hampstead, Md., cleared an initial regulatory hurdle Thursday morning as it aims to launch retail sports betting. Greenmount passed through a lottery qualification hearing, moving it in front of the SWARC, which will have an opportunity to award the facility a sports wagering license at its next meeting. As of Thursday, the SWARC’s next meeting had yet to be scheduled.
“We just want to thank the staff of the Maryland lottery for all their help,” David Richardson, one of the owners of Greenmount’s sports wagering facility, said at the lottery commission meeting. “We’re two little guys up in Carroll County, and navigating these waters have been challenging, and we definitely want to thank the staff for helping us get to where we are.”
Greenmount has not yet announced a partnership with a sportsbook operator.
