Much like every state looking to legalize sports betting, Maryland had flirted with the idea ever since the 2018 US Supreme Court decision. After all, Maryland does have other forms of gambling at horse racing tracks and brick-and-mortar casinos.
Finally, sports betting at those casinos is on the way, as voters voted yes on the legal sports betting question on the November 2020 ballot.
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Last updated: Dec. 17, 2020
Penn National Gaming secured operations to Hollywood Casino Perryville for $31.1 million in cash. The plan is to launch a Barstool Sportsbook, both retail and online, pending regulatory approval.
Voters in Maryland said “yes” to legal sports betting in the Nov. 3 elections. Question 2 on the ballot posed legalizing wagering in the state, with the purpose of raising money for local education. Now that it’s a done deal, in all reality, Maryland sports betting could begin in 2021. It all depends on how fast details can get hammered out and when the first bets will actually be taken.
The sports betting gears were turning very slowly in Maryland.
After the Maryland Senate passed a full-fledged sports betting bill, the House opted to strip all the language regarding how sports betting would be conducted.
Because of this, voters had to approve sports betting via a November 2020 ballot initiative. They were asked this question:
“Do you favor the expansion of commercial gaming in the State of Maryland to authorize sports and event betting for the primary purpose of raising revenue for education?”
Now that it has passed with a legal vote, conservative guesses would say that sports betting could launch sometime in late 2021.
Remember, lawmakers still have to sit down in 2021 and plan out exactly how sports betting will function in the state. There are regulations, rules, and decisions to make on licenses, plus a whole host of details to be worked out.
Sports betting traditionally operates via two outlets: physical retail locations and mobile/online wagering.
Maryland is in a perfect position for both. The state has six casinos, three racetracks and several gambling operators that would love a crack at the online market.
As mentioned, Maryland has six land-based casinos, all of which would be capable of opening a retail sportsbook.
Additionally, there are three racetracks capable of opening sportsbooks.
Usually, when a property opens a retail sportsbook, it tends to launch a companion app. There are six gambling operators in the state that could go at it alone or partner with other companies to launch apps.
Of course, these are all hypotheticals. Ultimately, who can and will operate sports betting will be determined by the language in the final sports betting bill.
Maryland’s history with gambling dates back to 1947 when four southern counties went over the governor’s head and installed 9,300 gambling machines. When 1968 rolled around, Maryland outlawed slot machines altogether, and the millions generated from these illegal machines dried up.
Four decades later in 2008, residents approved a constitutional amendment to allow slot machines in five designated locations. In 2012, voters again elected to expand gambling by permitting table games and authorizing a sixth casino in the state.
That sixth casino, MGM National Harbor, is right across the water from Washington, D.C.
The six casinos are located in:
Since there is no sports betting law just yet, the exact age to place a bet is still unknown. However, simply looking at other states with sports betting, it’s safe to assume you will have to be 21 or older to place a wager.
The minimum gambling age in the state is 21; odds are that will apply to sports betting, as well.
When the laws are finalized, sportsbooks are officially open, and apps and online sites have launched, then you will be ready to start betting.
Make sure you understand sports betting basics and the type of bet you are placing. If you have any doubts, the casino staff can explain.
Typically, you can place a bet in two ways.
The traditional way is to go to a tellerwindow. You pay your money and receive a ticket, which is your record of the bet.
A new way is to use a bettingkiosk. These come with touch screens that display all the available bet types and games. Select your bet, pay with cash or card, and the kiosk will print out your betting ticket.
Keep your betting ticket safe because you will need it if you win. To collect your winnings, go to the teller window and hand over your ticket.
If law permits, mobile wagering will be a way for customers to place bets without having to travel to a physical sportsbook.
Geolocation will ensure that you are within state borders, and various levels of security will be installed on the apps to make sure you are who you say you are.
However, until that day comes, all of this is hypothetical.
When online sports betting arrives, you can set up a sports betting account in a matter of minutes. In some jurisdictions, such as Nevada, the law states that you must set up your account in person at a casino. There is a chance lawmakers in Maryland might adopt this rule.
You would only need to travel to the nearest physical sportsbook once to set up your account. After that, you would be able to place wagers from anywhere in the state.
Whenever online sports betting launches in MD, we will provide links to all the various brands together with reviews of each operator.
To open your account, follow one of our links and complete the information on the sign-up page. Remember, personal details will be required. This is to prevent any chance of underage gambling.
After you have chosen a screen name and password, you are ready to place your first bets. If you open your account using a mobile device, you will need to download the appropriate app. After that, the process is the same as signing up from your desktop.
Be sure to check out the new customer offers before deciding which online sportsbook to use.
Much like an online bank account, you will need money in your sportsbook account in order to place a bet.
Online sports betting operators will offer as many ways as they can to allow customers to make deposits. In some states, the laws even stipulate that operators must accept specific payment methods.
When you place a bet, funds are taken from your sportsbook account, and any winnings will credit to it. The operator will provide a complete transaction history on request.
There are several options to deposit funds in other legal sports betting states. These options include:
Withdrawals are easiest if you can use the same method you used to make your deposit.
Withdrawals are fast compared to the time needed by offshore (or illegal) sites. Because these are not allowed to use the US banking system, it can take weeks to claim your winnings from an offshore operator.
In the US, the process is almost instant if using credit or debit cards or payment processing services.
Other withdrawal methods, such as requesting a check, can take a little longer. You may not withdraw money through PayNearMe.
Easy financial transactions and the security of your account funds are significant reasons to switch from offshore sports betting to the legal market.
Short answer — yes. If you set up an online sports betting account in Maryland, you will most likely have to be inside state boundaries to place a bet. The same goes if you are betting in neighboring Pennsylvania or New Jersey.
Online gambling is regulated at the state level, not the federal level, so Maryland law no longer applies when you leave the state. One step across the border, and you are no longer legally allowed to wager on your mobile device with a Maryland licensed operator.
Geolocationtechnology is accurate. If you try to place a bet, the software will refuse to accept it. Of course, all bets you have made before leaving the state remain legal.
Another frequently asked question is, what if the same operator is in both states? Regardless, you will have to set up separate accounts. You will not be able to use your Pennsylvania account to bet in Maryland and vice versa.
In theory, you most likely will be able to bet on any and all sports in Maryland.
Typically the regulator decides what counts as a sport eligible for betting. Betting on the Oscars may or may not qualify.
However, there is a possibility that lawmakers may adopt a rule that prohibits wagering on in-state college teams, much like New Jersey.
Obviously, there will be no betting on high school sports or any sports involving minors where they are the majority participants.
The law may specify the types of permitted sports bets, but the regulator will probably have a great deal of latitude.
Some of the common bet types are:
Live betting allows you to wager after a game has begun. The data that sports betting operators have now is so good — at least for major events — that they can adjust the odds of bets in response to the action on the field almost instantly.
Live betting, or in game wagering, is where you bet on certain outcomes during a game. Some examples include:
Live, in game wagering is rapidly becoming a favorite of bettors. When you have a bunch of friends watching a game together, a few small in-game bets can enhance your enjoyment of the game and give everyone a stake in the outcome.
It’s still too early to know who will be opening a sportsbook in Maryland. But by looking at neighboring states and other jurisdictions that have launched sports betting, we have a good guess as to who might.
The names you will almost certainly see if they can get access to the market will be:
All are already active in the US market, and all will try to find a Maryland sports betting partner.
Short answer — no.
Unfortunately, Maryland does not have any other forms of online gambling such as online poker or online casino games.
The state does have charitable, horse-based gambling, a state lottery and land-based casinos.
Tennessee sports betting apps are unique in the US in that they are online-online sportsbook apps. This means that they are not joined to any local casinos. Most Tennessee sports bettors, though, wouldn’t know the difference as the state hosts some of the top betting brands in the US.
Tennessee joined the legal US online sports betting market last November. The Volunteer State doesn’t play home to any land-based casinos, making all of Tennessee’s sportsbooks online-only platforms.
Four different mobile sportsbooks went live on the first day of legal sports betting in Tennessee. Several more brands expect to launch in 2021 as the Tennessee market continues to develop.
Visit: BetMGM Tennessee and get up to $500 Deposit Match Bonus
Tennessee Titans fans can find BetMGM branding featured prominently at Nissan Stadium, the home of the Titans. BetMGM competes with anything in the market in sports selection.
BetMGM welcomes new players with a risk-free bet up to $500. Other promotions include risk-free player prop bets on which player will score first in selected games.
Visit: FanDuel Tennesse and Bet $5 to Win $275 on Super Bowl 55
The launch of FanDuel Sportsbook brings America’s most popular online sports betting brand to the Tennessee market. Bettors in the Volunteer State can find just about any sport they’re looking for at FanDuel Sportsbook.
FanDuel welcomes new users with a risk-free bet up to $1,000 as a welcome bonus. Other promotions include “First Period Insurance” on NHL games.
Visit: DraftKings Tennessee and get up to $1,000 Deposit Match Bonus
DraftKings Sportsbook presents one of the top overall sports betting platforms in the US. The selection of sports and ways to bet puts the platform in an elite class among legal online sports betting sites.
The welcome bonus at DraftKings Sportsbook comes in the form of a 20% deposit match up to $1,000. A $100 referral bonus awaits for bettors who bring new players to DraftKings Sportsbook.
Tennessee Action 24/7 operates as a locally-owned and operated online sportsbook. This unique product competes with national powerhouses in Tennessee’s online sports betting market.
Tennessee Action 24/7 offers new players a 100% deposit match bonus up to $100. Other bonus offers include parlay insurance on selected games.
William Hill US applied for an operator license from the Tennessee Education Lottery. A William Hill Tennessee mobile sportsbook could go live in the Volunteer State sometime in 2021.
William Hill offers different welcome bonuses in different states, and the sportsbook’s offers for Tennessee players are yet to be determined.
Sportsbook | Welcome Bonus | Launch Date |
---|---|---|
FanDuel Sportsbook | Risk-free bet up to $1,000 | November 1, 2020 |
DraftKings Sportsbook | 20% deposit match up to $1,000 | November 1, 2020 |
BetMGM | Risk-free bet up to $500 | November 1, 2020 |
Tennessee Action Network 24/7 | Risk-free bet up to $500 | November 1, 2020 |
Four different online sportsbooks went live on the first day of legal sports betting in Tennessee. Several more brands are on the way to bettors in the Volunteer State.
Each sportsbook offers different bonuses, available betting markets, and odds. Check Gaming Today for the latest on which sportsbooks are live and what each offers in Tennessee.
Tennessee’s mobile sportsbooks allow rapid, secure deposits using several different methods.
PayPal, ACH/eCheck, credit/debit cards, and Play+ are available as deposit methods at most of the state’s sports betting sites. Each of these methods funds your account instantly, with PayPal offering the highest acceptance rate of all of these options.
Tennessee’s mobile sports betting apps use geolocation services to determine your location. You can place wagers from anywhere in Tennessee, as long as the geolocation technology can determine you’re located within state borders at the time of a bet.
New players will need to provide proof of age and identity, as well as a valid email address, to sign up for a new account at a Tennessee sportsbook.
Once these details are verified, you’re free to make your first deposit and start wagering.
Placing a bet on a Tennessee sports betting app is pretty straight forward. Tennessee sportsbooks offer moneyline, point spread, totals, parlays, and many other kinds of bets.
Online sportsbooks allow you to choose your bet by simply clicking on the team and wager you want to make. The bet then goes to your bet slip, and from there you can click again to confirm your wager.
The arrival of legal sports betting in Tennessee brings secure, regulated wagering to the Volunteer State. Black market bookmakers and offshore gambling sites will always exist, but Tennessee bettors would be wise to stick with the legal options available in the state.
The Tennessee Education Lottery (TEL) regulates the state’s legal betting sites. The oversight of the TEL ensures transparency and accountability from the state’s online sportsbooks, mandating prompt payouts, and secure transactions from operators. Illegal bookmakers and offshore sites don’t offer that same level of security.
Bettors must pay taxes on sports betting winnings, and sportsbooks will automatically withhold federal taxes on wins of $5,000 or more.
Tennessee’s first full month of sports betting operations yielded $131.4 million in betting handle, according tofigures released by the Tennessee Education Lottery.
That handle figure came from the four sportsbooks that launched on Nov. 1. Those products included DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, and Tennessee Action 24/7.
November revenue came in at $13.2 million as the sportsbooks realized a 10% hold. Gross gaming revenue is taxed at 20% in Tennessee, and November revenue yielded $2.36 million in Privilege Tax earnings for the state.
The Tennessee sports betting market presents a unique case among legal US sports betting states. Tennessee law allows for multiple sports betting operators to compete in the state.
Without any land-based casinos, Tennessee’s sports betting rules allow brands to launch online-only mobile sportsbooks in the state. Tennessee stands as the only state to operate in this fashion, as all other states allowing competition among brands also require that land-based casinos get a piece of the market.
Geographically, the closest states to Tennessee that offer legal online sports betting are West Virginia, Indiana, and Iowa. All three are more than a year ahead of Tennessee in the legal sports betting market.
Indiana brought in just under $251 million in November betting handle. The Hoosier State shares a nearly identical population with Tennessee, as both states estimate just under seven million residents as of the end of 2020.
Both Indiana and Iowa ($87.2 million November betting handle) offer multiple different online sports betting brands. Tennessee could meet or exceed the number of different options available in Indiana (10) and Iowa (7) by the end of 2021.
The Tennessee sports betting market can chalk up at least one major recent successes – the recruitment of sports betting’s most viable brands to the Tennessee market.
The Nov. 1 launch date saw three of the industry’s most influential brands open for business in the Volunteer State. DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM represent three of the most recognizable names in sports betting.
With all three entering the Tennessee market at the earliest possible time, the future looks bright for one of the newest sports betting markets in the US. William Hill, another huge name in sports betting, has applied for an operator license in Tennessee as well.
Tennessee laws mandate that sportsbooks produce at least 10% hold, starting in 2021. Operators that don’t hit this mark are subject to a $25,000 fine at the end of the year.
That fine might not amount to much in the multi-million dollar sports betting industry. It could, however, encourage sportsbooks to look for ways to achieve that 10% hold mark.
Setting lines that yield higher vig presents one way sportsbooks could pump up the hold margin. This approach isn’t optimal in the long term, however, as Tennessee bettors would be inclined to avoid the books utilizing such a strategy.
The path to sports betting legalization in Tennessee played out as a relatively smooth process. The measure that eventually became the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act started as House Bill 1 in late 2018.
The bill passed through the state House by a 58-37 margin, then the Tennessee Senate by a 20-12 mark. The sports betting bill went into law in May 2019 without a signature from Gov. Bill Lee.
Governor Leeobjects to any further expansion of gambling in Tennessee, which currently doesn’t host any land-based casinos. Lee only allowed the bill to go into law because of the online-only operator model.
The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act allows multiple operators to compete as online-only sportsbooks in the state. Gross gaming revenue is taxed at 20%, and sportsbooks are subject to fines if they don’t yield at least a 10% hold.
The actual launch of operations for Tennessee’s online sportsbooks didn’t quite play out as smoothly as the legislation process.
The Tennessee Education Lottery announced several different start dates for regulated sports betting. After multiple hiccups, sports betting finally went live in Tennessee on Nov. 1, 2020.
Tennessee’s NFL franchise currently enjoys one of the most successful sustained runs in team history. The Titans produced five straight winning seasons from 2016-2020.
The team formerly known as the Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee in 1997 and rebranded as the Titans in 1999. In that first season as the newly-named Tennessee Titans, the franchise went all the way to the Super Bowl.
The Titans won the AFC South in the 2020-21 season, and appear poised for a long run as one of the AFC’s top teams. The Titans’ next playoff run will be open for betting at Tennessee sportsbooks, all the way through the Super Bowl.
The NHL introduced the Nashville Predators in 1998, and in the past two decades, the team has enjoyed status as one of Tennessee’s most popular sports teams.
The Predators consistently sell out games at Bridgestone Arena, where the team has played since its inception. Nashville didn’t qualify for the playoffs in the team’s first five seasons, but since then the team has ridden a sustained wave of regular-season success.
Nashville has qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs 13 times since its first postseason appearance in 2003-04. The Predators made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016-17, eventually losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in a best-of-seven series.
The Predators’ next playoff run will be open for wagering at Tennessee’s legal online sportsbooks. That includes the next Stanley Cup run for Nashville, whenever that happens.
Like the Titans, the Grizzlies moved from another city to establish a pro sports franchise in Tennessee. The Grizzlies moved from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001.
The Grizzlies lay claim to 10 playoff appearances since moving to Memphis, including a Western Conference finals berth in 2012-2013.
An exciting new era began for the Grizzlies when the team drafted guard Ja Morant in the 2019 NBA Draft. The next playoff run could be right around the corner for Memphis. When it arrives, Tennessee bettors can find numerous ways to bet on the Grizzlies throughout the playoffs.
The University of Tennessee stands as one of college football’s most storied programs. Recent years have resulted in a drop off in status for the football program, which claims six national championships and 13 Southeastern Conference titles.
The last conference championship in football happened in 1998 for the Volunteers. Tennessee made five bowl appearances in the 2010s, with the last coming in 2019.
The Tennessee men’s basketball program emerged as a perennial contender in the SEC throughout the 2010s. The program made five March Madness appearances over the course of the decade, including three Sweet 16 berths.
The Lady Vols’ women’s basketball program stands as one of the most successful programs in the history of women’s college basketball. The Lady Vols hold eight National Championships and have appeared in all 36 annual editions of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
The University of Memphis Tigers men’s basketball program has forged a reputation as one of the most consistent programs in the NCAA over the past four decades. The Tigers have 21 NCAA Tournament appearances in that span.
Memphis made a Final Four run in 2008, making it all the way to the championship game before losing to Kansas in overtime. The program last made it to March Madness in 2014, as recent years have seen a decline in success for the program.
The Memphis football program won the American Athletic Conference title in 2019, finishing 12-1. The team boasts bowl appearances in each of the last seven seasons.
Both NCAA football and basketball are open for betting at Tennessee sportsbooks. This includes almost all markets on in-state teams like the Volunteers and Tigers.
The only restriction on college sports betting in Tennessee is a ban on in-game prop bets. All other types of bets are allowed.
Yes. The Tennessee Sports Gaming Act went into effect in July 2019, legalizing online sports betting in the Volunteer State.
Only online sports betting is allowed in Tennessee, as land-based casino gambling isn’t legal. The online-only business model makes Tennessee a unique market among US states.
21 or older. The minimum age to place an online sports bet in Tennessee is 21 across all legal online sportsbooks.
Yes. All college sports, including in-state programs like the Tennessee Volunteers and Memphis Tigers, can legally be wagered on in Tennessee.
The only exception is in-game prop betting, which is not allowed under Tennessee law.
The Tennessee Education Lottery (TEL) regulates Tennessee’s sports betting industry. All legal online sportsbooks must be approved by the TEL.
The TEL oversees and audits all legal sportsbooks in Tennessee, ensuring transparency and accountability from all approved sportsbooks.
Yes. Most of Tennessee’s online sportsbooks offer their platforms as Apple iOS apps, as well as Android apps and desktop clients.
DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Tennessee Action 24/7 all offer iOS apps. These apps can be found as free downloads in the App Store.
No. You just need to be located within Tennessee borders at the time of a wager for the bet to go through.
Visitors from other states are free to wager at Tennessee’s online sportsbooks, without any kind of residency requirement. This includes bettors from neighboring states that want to place legal online bets.