Maryland Gov Wants Mobile Sports Gambling in Time for NFL

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is getting frustrated with the delays in introducing sports gambling in the state. Now, the governor wants to see more done so that mobile sports wagering can be up and running in time for the new National Football League season this September. Whether officials move as quickly though is another matter altogether.

Governor Urging People Responsible to Act

The governor did pen a letter to the Sports Wagering and Application Review Commission, which is the final hurdle that needs to be cleared for licensee applicants to begin setting up shop. Hogan explained that the present situation was the result of unnecessary delays and he got further vexed with the fact that West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. have all acted much more expediently.

For Hogan, the red tape is becoming too obtrusive and therefore slowing down progress. Rather, the governor wants to see the mobile sports wagering market launch quickly and efficiently and for the potential windfall for the state to not be impinged upon by bureaucracy. This seems to be easier said than done, as sports fans in Maryland are still forced to visit any of the five properties officially recognized to run in-person wagers.

Mobile is where the true power of sports betting is, argues Hogan, and says that sports fans in the state are already growing impatient with SWARC’s dilly-dallying and outward inability to pass a working model for such gambling to take place in the first place. In the interim, people continue to frequent Hollywood Casino Perryville, MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Horseshoe Baltimore, Live! Casino in Hanover, and Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin.

Give the Public the Right to See the Draft

Sports betting has enabled the casinos to contribute $2.7 million in the present fiscal year, but this could be much better should SWARC decides today to act swiftly. Hogan urged the committee to release a draft of the application process it had so far so more industry and public input can be offered to expedite the process. Mobile sports gambling must come online before the regular season, the governor wrote.