Maryland lawmakers renew push to legalize internet gambling
House Bill 1319, Internet Gaming—Authorization and Implementation, is the latest proposed legislation to establish a regulated online gambling system in Maryland.
The legislation is sponsored by Maryland Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary.
Per the bill, the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission will issue internet gaming licenses to qualified applicants, which would include casinos, licensed sports betting facilities, and other businesses.
The bill establishes a licensing process, with the first round of licenses reserved for social equity applicants, including businesses with 33% minority ownership.
Revenue portions to be used for state programs
Under the proposed legislation, revenue from online gambling would be transferred to the State Lottery Fund, with licensees retaining 80% of the proceeds from live dealer games, and 45% of the proceeds from all other internet gaming. The remaining funds would be distributed to several state programs.
For the first 12 months that internet gaming is in operation, up to $10 million will be allocated to the Video Lottery Facility Employee Displacement Fund, which would support workers at existing casinos who lose their jobs or face reduced work hours due to the expansion of Internet gaming. The fund would ideally mitigate the negative impact of online gambling on brick-and-mortar casino jobs.
Funding would also be allocated for local jurisdictions where physical casinos are located. The amount each jurisdiction receives would be based on its share of overall gross revenue generated by video lottery terminals. The overall pool available to local jurisdictions would increase each year.
Funding available to local jurisdictions by year:
$6.5 million in FY 2026
$8.3 million in FY 2027
$10 million in FY 2028
$11.3 million in FY 2029
$11.4 million in FY 2030
1% of all proceeds would go to the State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency for regulatory activities and investigations, and an additional 1% would go to the state's Problem Gambling Fund.
Counties would also receive 1% for education programs, with the distribution based on the population of students.
The remainder of the funds would go towards education reform, through the Blueprint for Maryland's Future Fund.
Revenue from sports betting, which became legal in Maryland in June 2021, already goes towards the fund. As of December 2024, more than $116 million in funding from sports betting had gone to the fund.
Previous pushes to legalize internet gaming
This is not the first time lawmakers have attempted to legalize internet gambling in Maryland.
Senate Bill 603, which was proposed in 2024, aimed to legalize online poker and casino games. That bill, which was backed by Senator Ron Watson, got pushback over concerns that it would worsen gambling addiction. That bill did not advance, however.
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