Sports Wagering Licenses For Horseshoe, Live! And MGM National Harbor Forwarded To Commission
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Applications for sports wagering licenses from Maryland's three largest casinos have been forwarded to a state commission for final approval, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission said Wednesday.
Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, Live! Casino and Hotel in Hanover and MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill will now seek the formal approval of the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) at its Oct. 14 meeting.
"We're pleased to have these three applicants approved and move them along to the SWARC," said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin. "Our team is diligently implementing the sports wagering law, and we're one step closer to the first in-person wagers, which we hope will take place by late fall."
The casinos are three of 17 businesses that were named in the law to legalize sports wagering as potential sites for sports books, pending a review of their qualifications, the gaming commission said.
In August, SWARC voted unanimously that the gaming commission's qualification standards are sufficient for determining how to award sports wagering licenses. The gaming commission determined the three casinos meet the criteria.
Maryland's six casinos brought in $165.4 million in revenue last month, according to the most recent data from the gaming commission. MGM National Harbor led the way with nearly $69.5 million, followed by Live! Casino and Hotel at nearly $56.5 million.
Horseshoe Casino was a distant third at a little more than $17.5 million. The remaining three casinos in the state did not surpass $10 million.