Too bad bettors couldn’t have strung together a six-state parlay with gaming as the winner in every outcome ahead of Tuesday’s election. Had that been doable, it would have been a win, as voters from the Mountain West to the Deep South to the Mid-Atlantic overwhelmingly approved gaming measures on the presidential ballot in their states.
The biggest news is that Maryland will become the 15th state to offer statewide mobile sports betting after voters there approved a sports betting referendum. The initiative was a stripped-down version of how lawmakers see sports betting in the state after they rushed to get it on the ballot following a COVID-19-shortened session. But the new law calls for statewide mobile and retail sports betting at casinos, racetracks, and potentially other venues around the state.
It could also help the state keep the Washington Football Team. Owner Dan Snyder has been shopping for a new venue ahead of the 2027 expiration of his team’s deal for FedEx Field in Landover, Md. Sports betting could offer a new form of revenue for the team, and Virginia lawmakers already included a provision permitting pro sports teams to offer sports betting in its new law. Legal sports betting in Virginia is projected to go live in early 2021.