It’s only a matter of time until the state of Maryland joins the sports betting industry.
State officials have made plenty of progress towards launching betting in the Old Line State. To date, more than half of the U.S. states have joined the industry.
The state of Kansas launched sports betting just last month. Ohio is slated to launch sports betting on New Year’s Day 2023, and the state of Massachusetts is also getting close to legalizing it.
The sports betting economy has been a giant success ever since the Supreme Court of the United States made a groundbreaking ruling in May 2018. The SCOTUS overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which made sports gambling illegal in most parts of the country, ruling that the law violated the nation’s Tenth Amendment.
And before long, residents of Maryland will get the opportunity to place sports bets on their favorite teams. It is expected that upon launching, there will be a Caesars Maryland promo code for new customers in which they’ll receive a first bet refund of up to $1,250 plus multiple rewards.
Other expected offers from Maryland sportsbooks to watch for include $200 in free bets from DraftKings on launch day, $100 in free bets plus a free three-month NBA League Pass from FanDuel plus $200 in free bets as well as five $100 “second chance” wagers from PointsBet.
When Is Maryland Sports Betting Launching?
There is no firm timeline on when mobile/online sports betting will launch in Maryland, but there is some optimism that it will go live at some point before the end of the year.
Back on Oct. 19, Matt Bonesteel of The Washington Post wrote, “Maryland could start taking online sports bets by the end of November or early December,” once they look at “the applications it received from companies that want to offer the service.”
Fast forward two weeks later, and we’re still waiting for confirmation on sports betting going live in the state. If not by December, Maryland will hopefully launch it at some point in early 2023 before the Super Bowl (set for Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona).
For what it’s worth, Maryland projects that “could generate more than $4 billion in bets in the first full year.”
Available Sportsbooks In Maryland
Several of the top sportsbooks in the nation will soon be made available in Maryland. Chances are that you’re quite familiar with some of these sportsbooks, and you’ve surely seen plenty of their commercials/ads during sporting events.
FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars and PointsBet are among the marquee apps that residents of Maryland will be able to use. There’s actually a BetMGM Sportsbook & Lounge at Oxon Hill, and a FanDuel Sportsbook at the Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland in Hanover.
Customers will also have a plethora of betting options to choose from, including futures (award winners, league champions, etc.), point spreads, money lines, parlays and more.
Teams To Bet On In Maryland
When it comes to sports teams in Maryland that you can place wagers on, fans will have a wide range of options.
The state of Maryland is home to two “big four” (NHL, MLB, NFL and NBA) professional sports franchises in the Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens. But nearby Washington, D.C. has four “big four” teams in the NFL’s Washington Commanders, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards and MLB’s Washington Nationals.
There are also several collegiate teams to bet on, including the Maryland Terrapins’ teams, the Georgetown University Hoyas’ programs and the historic Navy Midshipmen football squad.
The Ravens have emerged as a powerhouse in the AFC since Lamar Jackson’s 2018 rookie year. Once again, the Ravens are among the favorites to win the Super Bowl at multiple sportsbooks.
Only five teams have higher odds of winning Super Bowl 57 than the Ravens (+1800) at the DraftKings sportsbook. FanDuel gives Baltimore the fifth-best Super Bowl odds (+1400), behind only the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.
The Orioles had a strong second half but missed out on the 2022 MLB postseason, finishing with a record of 83-79. They’ve held some extremely low World Series odds for a while now, but the Orioles could be a dark horse contender to win the Fall Classic in 2022.
The Commanders, Capitals and Wizards don’t look like title contenders at this time, and the Nationals are in the early stages of a rebuild. Though they’re all long shots to win championships in the near future, you could find some good value betting lines/point spreads on these teams.
