Maryland Sen. Ron Watson is making another attempt to bring online casino gaming to the Old Line State by introducing a new bill for 2026.
Watson’s Senate Bill 885 aims to allow the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission to award iGaming and online bingo licenses to video lottery operators or a “sports wagering licensee who is both a sports wagering facility licensee and a mobile sports wagering licensee if both licenses were issued on or before Dec. 31, 2026.”
The bill also allows companies that have had a headquarters in the state for at least 10 years or employ at least 250 people full-time in Maryland, as well as firms that commit to spend at least $5 million to build a live dealer or a film and television studio, to apply for licensure.
Cheaper license fees for live dealer games
SB 885 requires prospective iGaming licensees to pay a $1 million licensing fee to deliver a full suite of online casino products. But, if a licensee only offers live dealer games in Maryland, the license fee would be just half, at $500,000. Online bingo licenses are also set at half a million dollars.
Each online casino and bingo license awarded in the state would have a five-year term. If providers renew their licenses, they would be required to pay 1% of average annual proceeds.
Watson’s measure requires online casino operators to allocate a portion of gaming proceeds to the Video Lottery Facility Employee Displacement Fund for the first 12 months of operations in the state. The bill also provides funding for the Purse Dedication Account and jurisdictions with video lottery facilities through gaming proceeds and supports Maryland’s Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business Account, too.
SB 885 includes a ‘tampering’ penalty
SB 885 also mandates responsible gaming standards by operators, with clear and concise messaging to 1-800-GAMBLER required. The legislation would also prohibit credit card deposits for gaming-related transactions for both online casino and bingo operators.
Watson’s bill also includes a penalty of up to $1 million for tampering with software to “alter the odds or the payout of a game” tied to regulated online casino or bingo gaming.
The measure underwent its first reading in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and is set for further consideration during a Senate hearing that is scheduled for March 11.
Watson’s previous online casino efforts
In 2025, Watson introduced Senate Bill 340 as a measure that authorized online casinos in Maryland, with licenses to be awarded to VLT operators and sports betting facility licensees. The bill never gained steam in the Senate after undergoing its first reading. A committee hearing was held on the measure, but it failed to progress.
Watson also proposed online casino measures in 2024 and 2023. In 2024, the lawmaker made an attempt to advance a measure that aimed to legalize online casinos through a voter referendum. The piece of legislation died after a first reading by a Senate committee.
His online casino measure in 2023 had the same result.
Lawmakers consider other gaming bills in Maryland
Watson’s online casino effort adds to several gaming-related bills in Maryland. The Senate’s budget and taxation committee introduced Senate Bill 112, a bill that proposes a ban on interactive games or contests that utilize multiple currency systems of payment, effectively targeting sweepstakes casinos.
The Maryland House Ways and Means Committee also introduced a similar measure.
The two pieces of legislation were introduced after the state’s Lottery and Gaming Control Agency sent cease-and-desist orders to several online casino and sweepstakes operators accepting customers in the state.
Other online casino efforts in the US
Other states such as Illinois and Virginia have also introduced legislation aimed at authorizing online casinos in 2026.
The push by lawmakers follows Gov. Janet Mills allowing the legalization of online casino gaming in Maine. In January, she did not veto a legislatively approved bill that provides the Wabanaki Tribes with the exclusive right to provide regulated online casino gaming in the Pine Tree State despite previously voicing her opposition to gaming expansion.
