Maryland regulators reject operators’ request to lighten promotional oversight
Sportsbooks were seeking ability to make promo offers available to users without prior regulatory approval
Sportsbook operators were dealt a setback in the still nascent Maryland online betting market after their petition to lighten oversight of promotional initiatives was rejected by state regulators.
According to a Baltimore Sun report stemming from a public records request, online operators in Maryland were seeking the ability to make promos available to users without first receiving regulatory sign-off.
Maryland’s online regulations stipulate that sportsbooks must submit any promotional offers, accompanied by the offer’s full terms and conditions, to the Maryland Lottery & Gaming Control Agency for inspection a minimum of two days prior to making them available to customers.
The operators – including market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings – were proposing to do away with the review period in favor of a system whereby they would alert regulators of a promo within five business days of launching it.
The proposal, which detailed how “unknown variables” can frequently represent the driving force behind a new offer, specifically referenced a business case around the rollout of targeted promotions to regional fans of teams advancing in March Madness.
The Maryland Lottery & Gaming Control Agency rejected the proposal in May.
“We’re eager for Maryland’s sports wagering industry to thrive and generate funding for education, and we’re also mindful of consumer protections,” agency director John Martin said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun. “We provide guidance to sportsbook operators so they may bring a variety of promotions to the market.
“At the same time, we feel that reviewing the details of promotions before they launch is a reasonable step that’s in the best interests of consumers.”
The agency separately rejected a request from DraftKings to overturn a regulation capping the total amount of money operators are permitted to allocate to free bets each year.
Maryland launched online sports betting in November 2022 after running a retail-only market for approximately one year.
The nine mobile operators currently live in Maryland had combined to handle just under $2.1bn in bets through April, resulting in $13.5m in tax payments back to the state.