Thanksgiving football is about to get much more interesting for Maryland sports fans. On Wednesday, the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) announced the first regulated Maryland online sports betting apps will launch on Nov. 23. There is no specific time yet on when operators can begin taking bets.
The launch date comes the day before Thanksgiving, when a day full of NFL games is served up alongside turkey and the trimmings.
Seven of ten approved operators will go live Nov. 23
Of the ten operators approved by SWARC to launch, the following seven will be going live next week:
- Barstool Sportsbook
- BetMGM Sportsbook
- BetRivers Sportsbook
- Caesars Sportsbook
- DraftKings Sportsbook
- FanDuel Sportsbook
- PointsBet Sportsbook
Betfred, BetParx, and Fanatics informed the regulators they will not be prepared to launch at the starting date.
SWARC received 21 applications for online sports betting. While the initial batch of ten received approval, the group is still working through the remaining group and did caution that they will be potentially approving more operators down the line.
BetMGM erroneously accepted MD wagers early
BetMGM was a little too eager to get out the gate in the state. As noted on Twitter by Action Network’s Sam McQuillan, the operator accidentally accepted some premature wagers:
SBC Americas reached out to Maryland Lottery for comment on the incident. Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin had this to say:
“We moved quickly to shut down wagering as soon as we learned it was taking place. Our staff has been in frequent communication with all of the operators that are preparing to launch, and we have clearly explained that no wagering can occur until a controlled demonstration date approved by Maryland Lottery and Gaming. We are investigating what took place and will be evaluating our response as we go forward.”
