Update on Maryland from John Pappas
Last Friday, the Maryland SWARC released a letter that they sent to the state legislative committee responsible for approving regulations. In the letter they urge the committee to approve the proposed emergency regulations ASAP so that the MD Lottery and SWARC can formerly commence the application process for competitive mobile and class B1/B2 retail licenses.
The letter strikes an urgent tone and suggests that if approval is not done soon, the state is at risk of losing out on mobile betting for the entire NFL season. Previous expectation was that a launch could happen in the beginning of 2023.
Also on Friday, Aug 26th these regulations were printed in the Maryland Register and are open for a 30-day comment window. It is important to note, that it is not required for the comment window to close before MDLotto/SWARC begin the application process. They only need the legislative committee approval.
Finally, from the letter, and as we have shared previously, the SWARC decided against applying a race/gender ownership requirement for these types of licenses (as was suggested in the statute) and instead has mandated a “Personal Net Worth” provision.
Please let us know if you have any questions.