Maryland Senate Passes Bill That Would Expedite Legalized Sports BettingSB 325 Would Remove The Necessity For A Statewide Referendum On Gaming Laws |
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The Maryland Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow the state legislature to expand gambling laws without the consent of the voters.
SB 325 was passed by a whopping 46-1 margin. The bill would alter the state’s constitution so that any gambling legislation passed by lawmakers would not need to go to a statewide referendum the following November.
That language was added to the constitution in 2007 when the state legalized casino gambling but is slowing down the process of legalizing sports betting in Maryland.
At the start of the new year, Republican Sen. Chris West prefiled SB 58, a bill that would legalize sports betting at Maryland’s casinos and pari-mutuel racetracks. West’s bill has yet to get out of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, but Democratic Sen. Craig Zucker introduced a sports betting bill of his own in the meantime.
Zucker’s SB 4 was also discussed at a hearing by that same committee, but a vote is expected to take place on it later this month. If both SB 4 and SB 325 become law, the government would be able to move quicker on sports betting and start the implementation process as soon as it is signed into law by Gov. Larry Hogan.
Under Zucker’s bill, the tax revenue collected by the state would be used to fund the state’s education program. Revenue from sports betting is projected to net the state roughly $21 million per year.
SB 325 heads to the House Ways and Means Committee where they will hear and vote on the bill before sending it to the floor for a formal vote. If it passes the house, it will head to the Governor’s desk.
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