A retail sportsbook license application from the Washington Commanders is expected to be discussed at next week’s Maryland Lottery meeting. Maryland Stadium Sub LLC is listed as one of three applicants scheduled for an initial qualification hearing, and The Daily Record found that the company lists its business address as 1600 FedEx Way, the same location as the Commanders’ stadium.
An official team spokesperson declined comment Thursday when reached by Sports Handle.
The Washington Commanders have not yet publicly announced a sports betting partner for its proposed retail sportsbook at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. The team is partnered with FanDuel for an online-only license in Virginia. FanDuel has a retail book at Live! Casino Maryland
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) August 3, 2022
The news doesn’t come as a major surprise, as Maryland legislation has designated 17 locations to receive sports betting facility licenses. FedEx Field — home of the Commanders — is one of those locations, while Betfred, which recently partnered with Long Shot’s, is one of the other three applicants listed for the Wednesday lottery meeting.
Maryland retail sportsbooks
M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of the MLB’s Baltimore Orioles, are also among the locations predetermined to receive sports wagering facility licenses, but neither has announced official plans to implement in-stadium sportsbooks.
Maryland also has five casinos that currently offer retail sports betting. MGM National Harbor (BetMGM), Horseshoe Casino (Caesars Sportsbook), Live! Casino and Hotel (FanDuel), Hollywood Casino Perryville (Barstool Sportsbook), and Ocean Downs Casino (TwinSpires) all launched brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in December of 2021.
Bingo World launched a BetRivers sportsbook earlier this week, becoming the first non-casino retail sportsbook to go live in Maryland. Long Shot’s hopes to launch its temporary Betfred sportsbook by the start of the 2022 NFL season, with its permanent sportsbook completed by early 2023.
Mobile next on the agenda
While Virginia and Washington, D.C., have digital sports betting platforms available, mobile sportsbooks have yet to launch in Maryland. The Maryland Sports Wagering Application Review Commission is in the process of creating regulations for mobile sports betting, and there’s hope among key stakeholders that such platforms will launch in the state by the end of 2022.
Gov. Larry Hogan recently pleaded with the SWARC to move more quickly in hopes of launching by Week 1 of the NFL season, but reaching that target date will be a challenge. An Aug. 17 SWARC meeting should provide additional clarity on when mobile sportsbooks will be allowed to go live in Maryland.
