Maryland Considers Legalizing Online Casinos
Maryland lawmakers are restoring previous efforts to expand the state's betting market to include online video gaming by introducing two new proposals. The expenses would legislate online casino-style video games and web bingo, however the supreme choice will be left to citizens.
- Maryland SB 761 and SB 885 set a 2026 referendum with an internet video gaming regulative framework.
- The Maryland structure centers licensing on existing casinos and authorized partners, not broad brand-new entrants.
- A poll from October 2025 discovers that 71% of Maryland citizens oppose the legalization of iGaming.
The plan combines a constitutional referendum with a separate expense detailing how such activity would be certified, monitored, and controlled, while likewise developing consumer protection rules. Lawmakers backing the proposal have highlighted public education financing as a primary location for the state's share of online gaming income.
The framework counts on two Senate procedures that are intended to interact. Senate Bill 761 represents the constitutional part that would place a referendum before voters during the November 2026 general election.
The ballot concern would ask whether Maryland must allow web video gaming for specific functions, including assistance for education financing.
Should citizens decline the proposal, the expansion of online gambling would not continue, and neither step would take result.
The buddy legislation, Senate Bill 885, describes the regulative and operational system that would use if the referendum succeeds. It outlines licensing procedures and oversight obligations for online casino video gaming and online bingo under the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission.
The bill likewise describes eligibility requirements, compliance requirements, and securities to protect consumers participating in the market.
The structure mostly shows Maryland's existing casino structure. Participation would generally be limited to operators that already run gambling establishments in the state, along with approved partners working with those license holders.
However, the costs' futures stay unpredictable. A poll by Lake Research Partners for the National Association Against iGaming, performed in October 2025, found that 71% of Maryland citizens would oppose the legalization of online gambling establishments.
Virginia advances iGaming bill with modified language
While Maryland legislators examine whether to place iGaming before voters, throughout the border, Virginia legislators continue to advance their own proposition. The Virginia House General Laws Committee voted 15-4 to advance Senate Bill 118 after adopting substitute language and sending out the measure to the Appropriations Committee.
The modified variation removed the costs's earlier application date of July 1, 2027, and introduced a requirement that the legislation need to be reenacted throughout the 2027 General Assembly session before it can take impact.
If the costs receives that second approval, the Virginia Lottery Board would start accepting notifications of intent from operators starting July 1, 2027. The board would likewise be needed to complete regulative rulemaking by Jan. 1, 2028, creating a timeline that could allow online casino operations to launch in 2028.
The updated expense likewise needs operators to submit a separate notice of intent for each internet gaming platform and makes labor peace arrangements a condition for licensing approval. The replacement likewise revised the circulation of tax revenue by directing 5% to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund and assigning 6% to a newly created Internet Lottery Hold Harmless Fund through Jan.
.
