Full mobile gambling bill encounters local resistance
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MARYLAND – A new bill introduced by Senator Ron Watson would allow for E-gaming to operate within Maryland, allowing for slot machines, games of chance, and other staples of casino-style gambling to be permitted to run with real money stakes on mobile betting apps, similar to recently passed sports-gambling legislation.
Proponents of the legislation argue it’s a way of intercepting the black market for unlicensed gambling and boosting tax revenue.
According to the AP, “a total of 33 states and the District of Columbia now offer at least some form of sports wagering, each scrambling for shares of a multibillion-dollar enterprise that has rapidly expanded after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it nearly five years ago.”
However, this new bill is encountering resistance from lawmakers on the Eastern Shore.
Senator Mary Beth Carozza tells 47ABC that the ease of access to gambling via a mobile device worries her, as well as its potential to outcompete brick-and-mortar casinos including Ocean Downs.
“The Ocean Downs is a major employer and there would be some concerns there that if you go into another direction with gaming, that it really could hurt us locally,” Senator Carozza said.
She adds she does not believe the votes are there this session for the measure to advance out of committee.
