Maryland’s gaming regulator has given bet365 the green light to start taking bets in the state.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency (MLGCA) approved the British sportsbook’s application for an online sports wagering license at a hearing on Thursday, clearing the way for bet365 to launch in what will be its 15th U.S. state.
Even before its license was officially approved on Thursday, bet365 was disseminating promotional material teasing that it would go live the same day, Aug. 28. SBC Americas reached out to bet365 seeking confirmation of its go-live plans but had not heard back at the time of publishing.
When it does go live, it will be one of a dozen licensed and operational mobile sportsbooks in the Old Line State, joining the likes of Bally Bet, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics and FanDuel.
It will also join a state that is one of several to increase its sports betting tax rate this year. Gov. Wes Moore signed a budget into law in May that raised the rate from 15% to 20%. Moore had originally proposed doubling the rate to 30%.
bet365’s most recent state launch came in Kansas just a few weeks ago, at the start of August, when it went live as the state’s seventh mobile sportsbook. That was its third new U.S. market since March, after it debuted in Illinois as a mobile and retail operator and then entered Tennessee‘s online-only market.
Maryland will make four state launches since March and 15 overall.
A 16th state is already queued up, as bet365 has secured access to Missouri’s upcoming online sports betting market via a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. That deal allows bet365 to advertise on Cardinals radio broadcasts, website and social media channels and via signage at the team’s Busch Stadium home. bet365 has also been given naming rights to the stadium’s ticketed bet365 Bridge seating and hospitality deck.
As two recent indications of its strong geographic growth in the U.S., bet365 moved into a new U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colo. last October and then became the first non-American sportsbook to join the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) in June, a coalition of operators which already consisted of FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Fanatics Sportsbook.
