Legalized igaming in Maryland
Every day, people across Maryland are placing bets on online casinos — they’re just doing it on unregulated platforms that ignore consumer protection laws and generate no state revenue.
Legalizing online casino gaming (or iGaming) would protect people and bring in hundreds of millions in revenue to fill state budget holes, at a time when Maryland is facing a fiscal crisis.
THE FACTS:
- Maryland loses out on $500 million in new revenue every year to unregulated iGaming.
- These online sites operate with no licenses or verifiable consumer protections, putting Marylanders — especially minors — at risk.
- Unregulated online casino gaming deprives the state of over half a BILLION in new revenue every year — that’s money we simply can’t afford to lose for critical state programs like education.
The New York Times reports:
Sweepstakes casinos pay no gambling tax — thanks to the loophole they use to avoid being classified as gambling.
“Companies that operate either in the black market or in the gray market are directly competing for revenue with licensed regulated entities,” Mr. Steinkamp said. “And that certainly impacts tax dollars.”
The Washington Post reports:
Unlike regulated sportsbooks and casinos, sweepstakes casinos don’t have to offer responsible gambling services, age verification or other consumer protections. Yet more than a million Americans play each month, and the games drew nearly $6 billion in player purchases last year, including $1.9 billion in net revenue, according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a research analyst firm. The firm predicts those numbers will more than double next year.
Online Casino Games
Unregulated online casino platforms are exploding in popularity across the United States. A recent Washington Post investigation detailed how unregulated iGaming platforms – like Chumba and VGW, Stake, and WOW – evade U.S. gaming laws and safeguards that prevent minors from gaining access and dodge billions in tax revenue that states could use to fund important priorities.
LATEST NEWS
In the eyes of many gaming corporations, not to mention lawsuit plaintiffs and state regulators, sweepstakes casinos act as traditional casinos, only without the oversight, consumer protections and tax laws
Millions of Americans are betting real money on online casino games marketed as “sweepstakes.” Users, regulators and the casino industry are fighting back
Empirical analysis of survey responses demonstrate that iGaming and land-based gaming serve different, complementary purposes