An online casino bill in Maryland, proposed by Vanessa Atterbeary, has progressed from the house and will now make its way to the Senate.
Maryland Online Casino Bill
In a 92-43 split, the house in Maryland voted to pass a bill which aims to legalize online casinos within the state – meaning it will head to the Senate.
On April 8th, the Senate will discuss the bill, after the house revealed a budget plan of $1.3billion that would balance on tax revenue made from legalized online gambling.
This money would then be put towards transportation and education costs.
The online gambling debate has been hotly contested in Maryland and many feel 2024 is the year for an online casino bill to be passed.
Maine is the other state hoping to legalize online gambling, with Illinois and New York also discussing the possibility in 2024 or 2025.
Bills to pass online gambling have proved difficult to pass in recent times, as lawmakers and stakeholders in different regions are not fully informed on the definition if online gaming.
Maryland’s online casino bill was chopped and changed on several occasions during its time in the House, which has been viewed as a possible negative and could go against the bill during its time in the Senate.
Online casino bill has three levels of licensing, which was finalised on the 16th March and Atterbeary made a further change – adding more available licences.
Two more unique changes were made, the first being a decision on credit cards, as they are now prohibited when funding a gambling account and stricter regulations on equity, inclusion and diversity.
Tax rates in states that have legalized online gambling sits between 18-57 per cent and Maryland’s ball will have a minimum rate of 55% on online games and 20% for live-dealer ones.
A five-year licence in the state for gambling operators will cost an initial fee of $1m and will increase by 1% per renewal (in relation to profit made each year).
A large part of the Bill’s success will rely on the tax revenue proposal, which is said to ‘blueprint Maryland’s future’ and money will be sent to counties for various reasons.
These reasons include, supporting businesses that owned by minority groups, smaller owner and women. Whilst 1% of the taxes will be put towards programs for those with gambling issues.
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