Maryland Senate Unanimously Passes Sports Betting BillBill Heads To House After 47-0 Vote In Senate |
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A sports betting bill in Maryland heads to the House with a lot of momentum after unanimously being passed in the Senate.
The Senate voted 47-0 on SB 4, a bill that would allow sports betting at both brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and online. According to the Baltimore Sun, the bill vote took place without any discussion of the content.
If passed by the House and signed by Gov. Larry Hogan, the issue would become a ballot initiative this November and citizens would have the final say whether sports betting is legal. Hogan has voiced support for sports betting in the past.
The bill allows betting on professional and college sports without any restrictions on Maryland schools. It would tax operators 20 percent of total revenue, with nearly all of it being used to help fund public education. It would allow for retail sports betting at the state’s six casinos, three tracks and possibly FedEx Field, home of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, in Landover.
In order for sports betting to be permitted at the Redskins’ home stadium, it must undergo significant renovations or be completely rebuilt. That was likely put into the bill in response to Virginia’s sports betting bill that was passed just a few days ago that stipulated professional sports franchises that relocated to the state could apply for a gambling license.
Redskins owner Daniel Snyder started petitioning Maryland lawmakers for a gambling license at the end of January.
Operators would be charged a one-time application fee of up to $2.5 million for a license. It would need toe be renewed annually at a smaller cost.
It is being estimated that sports betting would bring in an extra $20 million annually in new tax revenue.
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