Maryland’s gambling scene is fairly diverse. The state has legalized land-based casinos and even has a few that support poker rooms. Charitable gambling is allowed and, unlike in many other states, is regulated on a county and city level. As of 2020, online Sportsbook became legal but there is no news regarding legalizing online casinos. Even despite the fact that the neighboring New Jersey state leads by example, collecting taxes from the thriving online gambling industry.

Charitable gambling in Maryland may include bingo, raffles, and instant bingo. The licensing and tax questions are resolved on a city or county level.

The residents of Maryland may own slot machines at home as long as the devices are at least 25 years old and serve recreational and decorative purposes. Home games are also allowed as long as there is no house edge.

Despite the absence of state-regulated online casinos, statistics for Maryland show that its residents are fond of online games. They regularly wager cash online, at offshore operators. The gross gambling win reaches up to 45 billion USD per year, and 25 billion out of this big pie comes from casino games.

The laws of Maryland state that those caught gambling online may be facing up to 2 years in prison. However, like in many other states, there were no cases of players being prosecuted.

3 things to remember when choosing a Maryland-friendly casino

For starters, because American players for the most part have to wager at offshore locations, safety becomes a major issue. There have been plenty of cases of casinos not paying over the years. The international market for players from the USA is very volatile. This is why we always recommend registering and playing either in casinos with good international licenses or with a solid reputation and many years of experience.

As far as the licenses are concerned, the best thing a player from Maryland can find is a permit from the jurisdiction of Curacao. Licenses from Cyprus follow. There are also permits from Costa Rica and Panama, but we recommend taking those seriously only when paired with a decent reputation on gambling forums.

The second thing to remember is banking. Many Maryland-friendly online casinos will offer cards, including Amex or Discover. However, due to the strict policy of the banks in the USA, transactions connected to international online gambling may be declined. In this case, cryptocurrencies are a lifesaver. E-wallets like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and more are reliable, easy to use, and are available in many Maryland-friendly lobbies.

Finally, the list of studios available in offshore lobbies that target Maryland (and the USA in general) will be limited to a couple of live and non-live developers per platform. And these will not always be visible to non-registered players. So, it is always a good idea to check with the help desk representatives of the selected website about whether they have a live casino lobby.

Games and providers

Just a few years ago, the list of live dealer studios available to players from Maryland, was limited to a couple of brands. Today, we see positive dynamics in the market as a few new and promising studios joined.

As far as the games go, the list of options is still limited to a few variations of roulette and blackjack, as well as Punto Banco baccarat and just a couple of table pokers. For some diversity, check out the portfolio of Visionary iGaming. Theis selection of live blackjack features not only VIP and classic versions, but also Early Payout.

The team of Fresh Deck Studios delivers great live roulette, and so does Arrow’s Edge — their selection includes European and American Roulette variations.

In this state, the regulatory bodies of gambling are the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. They rely on the Maryland State Code to function. All of the legalized gambling activities — sports betting, lotteries, charitable gaming — have a minimum age requirement of 18 years. For casino gambling, players have to be at least 21 years old.

Land-Based Casinos in Maryland

Maryland is one of the few states where they don’t have tribal gambling. Land-based casinos are broadly available, and they offer slot machines, video poker games, video keno, and table games. Some locations also have poker rooms that reach up to 50 tables in size. Horseshoe Casino Baltimore hosts the World Series of Poker poker room. Among other casinos that the state has (these are not necessarily with poker rooms), there are such brands as Hollywood Casino Perryville, MGM National Harbor, Rocky Gap Casino Resort, and Ocean Downs.

Commercial operators retain 80% of revenues from table games and 33% of revenues from slot activity.

Pari-Mutuel Betting in Maryland

Horse racing, also known as pari-mutuel wagering, is legal in Maryland. There are a few racetracks around the state. Unlike in some states where they add slot and video poker machines to racetracks, which turns them into racinos, in Maryland, they won’t allow it.

At the same time, sports betting is a major activity in the state. Maryland is home to The Preakness, which is one of the Triple Crown events and a legendary horse race.

As for online Sportsbook, by the time we were ready to roll out this review, the Senate of the state unanimously passed a bill that would legalize retail and online sports betting, and in just a couple of months, it was signed into law.

Lotteries in Maryland

Maryland State Lottery holds a monopoly on lottery products and land-based casinos and slot facilities may purchase commercial licenses. The lottery includes tickets for activities within the state, as Maryland also participates in the national draws — Powerball and Mega Millions.

The lottery is insanely popular in the state and it generates more than 2 bn USD in revenues. The surplus funds charitable purposes.