State gaming officials are about to give initial approval to 3 new programs for cellular sports licenses, as well as two operators connected to two of those licenses. Thursday’s votes paved the way for 3 more entrants in a new market that saw sustained activity during Thanksgiving opening weekend.
While there are no official initial figures, GeoComply, a company that tracks online gambling in states, told BetMaryland. com that 477,000 accounts placed 16. 5 million online sports bets Nov. 23-27 in Maryland.
Nearly millions were placed on Thanksgiving, according to the gaming site.
The number of transactions in Maryland is double that of neighboring Virginia, a state with 2 million more people.
The 3 new candidates are:
State gaming regulators said they did not discover any issues that could prevent any of the 3 applicants from being cleared in Maryland.
All 3 are new entrants to Maryland’s gambling market, which includes six casinos and now sports betting.
Earlier this month, a state panel approved the first 10 cellular sports programs, all of which were guaranteed a license for a physical location in state law. DGC, Bally’s and WynnBet were not guaranteed a license and, so far, cellular licenses will serve as the respective presence for the sport in the state.
Seven of the 10 smartest licensees — FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, PointsBet, BetRivers, and Barstool Sportsbook — were operational last week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Regulators said there were a total of 21 applicants for 60 cellular licenses available.
The identities of the remaining seven applicants will be made public until they appear before the lottery commission.
If the panel votes as scheduled to qualify new candidates, all 3 would be for the Sports Betting Review Commission.
This panel approved qualified candidates through lotteries and gambling officials. Final approval of the new licenses could come in time for all three jobs before Christmas.
Mobile licenses are expected to be the ultimate lucrative in the state’s sports industry.
Even so, the maximum number of businesses is expected to lose in its first year of operation in the state.
Meanwhile, the state expects to make about $26 million in tax revenue in the first year. This is expanding to around $100 million projected for the fifth year.
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