Is sports betting legal in Maryland?
Yes, online and in person, for bettors 21 and older. Voters approved sports wagering through Question 2 on November 3, 2020, and HB 940 (Chapter 356 of 2021) set up the licensing system. BetMGM took the first retail bets at MGM National Harbor on December 9, 2021, and the first seven mobile sportsbooks launched on November 23, 2022. Kalshi's challenge to the state's gaming laws is waiting on a Fourth Circuit decision.
Where you can bet
Maryland Lottery and Gaming lists 12 licensed online sportsbooks: Bally Bet, bet365, BetMGM, betParx, BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook, Crab Sports, DraftKings, theScore Bet, Fanatics Sportsbook, FanDuel and LetsBetMD. Crab Sports closed on July 20, 2026, and 11 mobile licensees reported handle in August 2026.
Eleven retail sportsbooks also took bets that month. Five are in casinos: MGM National Harbor, Live! Casino, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, Hollywood Casino Perryville and Ocean Downs. The others are at the Commanders' stadium in Landover, Bingo World, Greenmount OTB, Riverboat on the Potomac, Long Shot's (with Caesars) and Sports & Social in North Bethesda.
Bettors wagered $465.9 million in August 2026, $458.8 million of it on mobile, and the state collected $7.0 million in tax. Retail books pay 15% of taxable win. Mobile books have paid 20% since July 1, 2025: 15% goes to the Blueprint for Maryland's Future Fund and 5% to the general fund. The Blueprint Fund had received $288.7 million from sports betting through August 2026.
The agency's catalog of approved wagers controls what books can offer. Individual player props on college games have been rejected since March 1, 2024. On March 1, 2026, the agency pulled first-half spreads, moneylines and totals unders from men's college basketball (first-quarter markets for women's games), and since February 1, 2026, bets on individual pitches are capped at $200 and can't go in parlays.
How Maryland legalized sports betting
Slots, casinos and the referendum rule
Maryland's modern gambling law starts with Article XIX of the state constitution, proposed by Chapter 5 of the 2007 special session and ratified on November 4, 2008, by 1,482,295 votes to 1,043,129 (58.69%). It allowed up to 15,000 video lottery terminals at five sites. It also bars the General Assembly from authorizing "additional forms or expansion of commercial gaming" after November 15, 2008, unless statewide voters approve it in a referendum. That clause is why sports betting needed a ballot question. The first casino, Hollywood Casino Perryville, opened September 27, 2010.
In a special session, the legislature passed a gaming expansion on August 13, 2012 (32 to 14 in the Senate, 71 to 59 in the House), and the governor signed it two days later. Voters approved it as Question 7 on November 6, 2012, 51.9% to 48.1%, allowing table games, a sixth casino in Prince George's County and up to 16,500 terminals. The same law renamed the regulator the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency on October 1, 2012. MGM National Harbor opened December 8, 2016. Chapter 346 of 2012 separately exempted skill-based fantasy competitions from the gambling ban.
Question 2 and HB 940
The Supreme Court struck down the federal sports betting ban in Murphy v. NCAA on May 14, 2018. Maryland's referendum bill, SB 4 of 2020, passed the House 129 to 3 on March 14, 2020, and the Senate 45 to 0 on March 18. Gov. Larry Hogan didn't sign or veto it, and it became Chapter 492 of 2020 without his signature on May 7. On November 3, 2020, voters approved Question 2 with 67.07% (1,904,098 to 934,950).
HB 940, sponsored by the House Speaker, passed the House 129 to 10 on March 11, 2021, and the Senate 47 to 0. The House accepted the Senate's amendments 124 to 14 on April 12, and Hogan signed the bill on May 18, 2021. It took effect immediately as an emergency measure. The law created the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) to award licenses and set five classes. Class A-1 went to casinos with more than 1,000 terminals, the Prince George's County NFL stadium, Baltimore's NFL and MLB franchises and certain other pro teams; Class A-2 went to smaller casinos and the Maryland Jockey Club; B-1 and B-2 covered smaller venues; and up to 60 mobile licenses could be issued. Application fees ran from $50,000 (B-2) to $2 million (A-1), with $500,000 for mobile, for a five-year term. Licensees kept 85% of proceeds and paid 15% to the Blueprint Fund.
Licensing and launch
SWARC awarded the first five casino licenses on November 18, 2021. MGM National Harbor opened its sportsbook on December 9, Live! and Horseshoe on December 10, Ocean Downs on December 17 and Hollywood Casino on December 23, 2021. Bingo World in Brooklyn Park became the first non-casino sportsbook on August 1, 2022. SWARC awarded mobile licenses on November 14 and 16, 2022, and Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel and PointsBet went live on November 23, 2022.
Betfred, SuperBook, Fanatics, Crab Sports and betParx followed in 2023, and LetsBetMD (July 1, 2024) and Bally Bet (July 29, 2024) in 2024. Some left: PointsBet's Riverboat platform closed January 30, 2024, after PointsBet sold its U.S. business to Fanatics, and SuperBook stopped July 19, 2024. The commission licensed bet365 as Riverboat's new platform on August 30, 2025.
Tax increase and later bills
The Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025 (HB 352, Chapter 604) raised the mobile rate from 15% to 20% starting July 1, 2025, and sent the extra 5% to the general fund. Online casino bills got committee hearings and went no further: SB 603 in 2024, and SB 340 and HB 17 in 2025.
Sports betting court cases in Maryland
We found no court challenge to Question 2, HB 940 or SWARC's licensing decisions. The sports betting cases in Maryland are Kalshi's preemption fight and consumer-protection suits by the City of Baltimore. We couldn't confirm that the federal district court cases below are the complete list.
KalshiEX LLC v. Martin (D. Md. No. 1:25-cv-01283; 4th Cir. No. 25-1892)
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission sent cease-and-desist letters dated April 7, 2025, to Kalshi, Robinhood and North American Derivatives Exchange (Crypto.com). Kalshi's letter said its sports event contracts were sports wagering that required a Maryland license. Kalshi sued the agency, the commission and its members on April 21, 2025, arguing that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gaming law. Maryland agreed not to enforce while the court considered a preliminary injunction, and Judge Adam B. Abelson heard argument on May 28, 2025.
Abelson denied the injunction on August 1, 2025, holding that Kalshi hadn't shown it was likely to win its preemption claim. Kalshi appealed the same day. On August 12, the state's lawyers gave Kalshi written assurances that they wouldn't enforce the relevant laws while the appeal is pending, and Kalshi withdrew its request for an injunction pending appeal. The district court stayed the case on August 21, 2025.
The Fourth Circuit docketed the appeal on August 6, 2025. Kalshi filed its opening brief on October 15, 2025, with amicus support from Paradigm Operations and Underdog. On December 22, 2025, Nevada, Ohio, 36 other states and the District of Columbia filed a brief backing Maryland, as did tribal groups and the American Gaming Association. The court heard argument on May 7, 2026. Both sides kept filing letters afterward. On September 21, 2026, Maryland cited KalshiEX LLC v. Bird (S.D. Iowa, Sept. 8, 2026), which denied Kalshi an injunction against Iowa. On September 25, Kalshi told the court the CFTC expects a revised Rule 40.11 to become final within two months and asked the court to wait for it if it considers the rule relevant. The court hadn't ruled as of September 27, 2026. The ruling will bind federal courts in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. v. Martin (D. Md. No. 1:25-cv-01285)
Crypto.com's derivatives arm filed its own preemption suit on April 21, 2025. Judge Matthew J. Maddox stayed it on September 11, 2025, on a joint motion, until the Kalshi appeal is decided.
City of Baltimore v. KalshiEX LLC and City of Baltimore v. QCX LLC
Baltimore sued Kalshi and Polymarket on August 13, 2026, in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City under the city's Consumer Protection Ordinance, alleging unlicensed sports betting and misleading claims about legality. The Kalshi complaint (No. C-24-CV-26-005532) also names Robinhood, Webull and Coinbase Financial Markets. It seeks civil penalties, an injunction, restitution and disgorgement. Kalshi removed its case to federal court on August 14 (No. 1:26-cv-03217, Judge James K. Bredar), and Polymarket affiliate QCX LLC removed the second case (No. C-24-CV-26-005535) on August 17 (No. 1:26-cv-03253, Judge Richard D. Bennett). We found no ruling in either case.
City of Baltimore v. DraftKings Inc. (4th Cir. No. 25-2372)
The city first used its Consumer Protection Ordinance against licensed sportsbooks. It sued DraftKings and FanDuel's parent, Flutter Entertainment, in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on April 3, 2025 (No. C-24-CV-25-002683), alleging their apps are designed to encourage problem gambling, and it seeks civil penalties and an injunction. The companies removed the case (D. Md. No. 1:25-cv-01487). Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher sent it back to state court on November 10, 2025, abstaining under Burford v. Sun Oil Co. and holding that federal courts shouldn't steer how the state and city work out sports betting policy. The companies appealed, the district court stayed its remand, and the Fourth Circuit has tentatively calendared argument for its December 8 to 11, 2026 session.
Casino ballot challenges
In 2008, opponents challenged the slots question's ballot language. An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court panel ordered one word added to say education would be the "primary" recipient of the money, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. On January 23, 2013, Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Ronald A. Silkworth rejected a suit to void the Question 7 result.
Rulings in other circuits
The Third Circuit sided with Kalshi against New Jersey on April 6, 2026 (KalshiEX LLC v. Flaherty, No. 25-1922), and New Jersey's petition for Supreme Court review (No. 26-299) was filed September 2, 2026, with Kalshi's response due November 9. The Ninth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in its Nevada appeal on August 28, 2026 (KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516), and the Sixth Circuit held on September 25, 2026 that the act doesn't preempt Ohio's or Tennessee's gambling laws, affirming the denial of an injunction in Ohio and vacating one in Tennessee (KalshiEX LLC v. Schuler, Nos. 26-3196 and 26-5235).
Prediction markets and daily fantasy
The commission told every casino, sportsbook and fantasy licensee on November 19, 2025, that a sporting event contract offered on a CFTC-designated contract market without a Maryland sports wagering license is "illegal activity," and that any association with an unlicensed company offering such contracts may count against a licensee's qualifications. The agency's posted cease-and-desist list includes Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com. Novig (Ludlow Exchange, LLC d/b/a Novig), a CFTC-designated contract market since June 16, 2026 whose eligibility page excludes only Nevada, Arizona and Michigan, isn't on that list. Kalshi's appeal and Baltimore's suits are covered in the court-cases section above.
Daily fantasy is legal. Operators must register with the commission and have paid 15% of proceeds since May 18, 2021, under HB 940. The agency lists 12 registered fantasy operators, including DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo Fantasy Sports. A contest can't turn on the score or performance of one team or any combination of teams, or on one athlete's performance in a single event; the agency defines those as sports wagering.
Help with a gambling problem
Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling: call or text 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537).
Sources
Maryland Lottery and Gaming: August 2026 sports wagering results
Maryland approved catalog of events and wagers (September 1, 2026)
Maryland Lottery and Gaming: bet365 launches in Maryland (August 30, 2025)
Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission cease-and-desist letter to Kalshi (April 7, 2025)
KalshiEX LLC v. Martin, D. Md., memorandum opinion denying preliminary injunction (August 1, 2025)
District court docket, KalshiEX LLC v. Martin (No. 1:25-cv-01283)
Maryland's supplemental-authority letter citing KalshiEX v. Bird (September 21, 2026)
Kalshi's notice on the CFTC's forthcoming Rule 40.11 (September 25, 2026)
District court docket, North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. v. Martin (No. 1:25-cv-01285)
Baltimore mayor's office: consumer protection suits against Kalshi and Polymarket (August 13, 2026)
City of Baltimore v. KalshiEX LLC complaint (Circuit Court for Baltimore City)
Federal docket, City of Baltimore v. KalshiEX LLC (No. 1:26-cv-03217)
Federal docket, City of Baltimore v. QCX LLC (No. 1:26-cv-03253)
District court docket, City of Baltimore v. DraftKings Inc. (No. 1:25-cv-01487)
Fourth Circuit docket, City of Baltimore v. DraftKings Inc. (No. 25-2372)
Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission notice on prediction markets (November 19, 2025)
Third Circuit opinion, KalshiEX LLC v. Flaherty (No. 25-1922, April 6, 2026)
U.S. Supreme Court docket, Flaherty v. KalshiEX, LLC (No. 26-299)
Ninth Circuit opinion, KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad (No. 25-7516, August 28, 2026)
Sixth Circuit opinion, KalshiEX LLC v. Schuler (Nos. 26-3196 and 26-5235, September 25, 2026)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: about the court