In a state whose litany of rules and regulations delayed the launch of sports betting, Maryland legislators are back again with two bills that are designed to bolster consumer protections.
Maryland’s Red Tape
After several years and more than a few sports betting bill iterations, mobile sports betting in Maryland ultimately launched in November of 2022. However, the language in the bills caused the governing body, the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC), to adhere to the letter of the law, which was replete with a disparity analysis and inclusion of minority-owned sportsbooks if possible, in addition to the usual suspects like FanDuel, DraftKings, et al.
Former Governor Larry Hogan publicly admonished SWARC to get the process moving when he wrote, “While much work is ostensibly ‘in progress,’ SWARC has still not defined a clear pathway or timeline for mobile sports wagering implementation – it is simply inexcusable for that to be the case more than a year after the bill was signed into law.”
SWARC Chair Tom Brandt essentially rebutted the governor’s frustration by saying that his commission was simply following orders contained within the sports betting bill, and if those orders were not practical, then it was the fault of the legislators who wrote it.
SWARC’s Workaround
Ultimately, SWARC reworked the law with the approval of the legislature, to mandate that the successful bidders submit a diversity plan instead of waiting for a minority-owned sportsbook to magically appear so that the launch could commence.
Brandt later stated, “Maryland’s sports wagering legislation was innovative in its provisions encouraging diverse participation in this new Maryland industry. To that end, there is some real substance in the plans that we’ve approved.”
Here We Go Again
Four full months after the launch of sports betting, Maryland politicians are coming up with new and muddled ways to protect their constituents. SB 620 and HB 802 are awaiting new governor Wes Moore’s signature, with the former having to do with sportsbooks and colleges/universities essentially receiving compensation, aka kickbacks, for signups, while the latter focuses on verifying the win/loss records of paid touts.
Ironically, the issue regarding sportsbooks and college “partnerships” has already been tackled by the American Gaming Association (AGA) which has released its own mechanisms for enhancing protections for college-aged audiences:
- Prohibiting college partnerships that promote, market, or advertise sports wagering activity (other than to alumni networks or content focused on RG initiatives or problem gambling awareness).
- Prohibiting sportsbook NIL deals for amateur and college athletes.
- Adding age restrictions (21+) for any individual featured in sports betting advertising.
- Changing all references to the “legal age of wagering” to 21-plus.
- Banning all use of “risk-free” in advertising.
- Formalizing an annual process for reviewing and updating the code.
AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said in a release, “Established in 2019, AGA’s Responsible Marketing Code reflects the commitment of our members to set and adhere to a high bar for responsible advertising.
Today’s updates advance that commitment and represent our intention to protect consumers and evolve our standards as this nascent market matures.”
How Are These Bills Any Different?
HB 802, aka the “tout bill”, would engage independent evaluators like SharpRank to validate the records of any handicappers who work for Maryland’s licensed sportsbooks or who use affiliate links associated with those mobile sports betting platforms. However, it doesn’t require that these entities sign up with these evaluators. Huh?
But SB 620 does not specifically ban partnerships between sportsbooks and colleges/universities, it merely prohibits them “if the sports marketing entity or the institution of higher education receives certain compensation for student participation in certain sports wagering.”
Both bills are answers in desperate search of a question, devoid of any real substance, and address issues that have either already been resolved – schools all over the nation are understanding that getting paid for their 21 or over students signing up at their sponsored sportsbook is not passing the sniff test – or those that don’t necessitate action.
Calculators
