Maryland Sports Betting

Sports betting has been highly anticipated in Maryland since lawmakers put forward sports betting legislation in 2018. While it took longer than most people hoped, retail and online sports betting are both legal in MD after Governor Larry Hogan signed HB 940 in May 2021.

Retail sports betting launched in Maryland in December 2021, with seven sportsbooks currently in operation. Online sports betting went live in November 2022, with seven betting sites already live. Three more brands have been licensed by the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency but are yet to launch. 

The sports betting market in MD is expected to be one of the most lucrative in the US, with up to 47 retail sportsbook licenses available and 60 online licenses. Maryland also holds three licenses in reserve for any sports franchises that relocate to the state. To learn more about sports betting in Maryland, read our expert guide below. We cover the best legal betting options for MD players, including online and retail sportsbooks, types of bets available, mobile betting, and bonuses and promotions.

Sports Betting Operators in Maryland

There are seven online sportsbooks live in Maryland and a further three licensed platforms that have not launched in the state yet. Operators that have launched already include some of the biggest sports betting names in the country, like BetMGM, DraftKings, and Caesars. However, Maryland is also home to a few smaller brands that are finding a footing in the US, like betPARX and Fanatics Sportsbook. As the state has another 50 online sports betting licenses available, we may see plenty more betting brands in the future. 

Check out all the sportsbooks licensed by the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency below.

While many of the major US sportsbooks have launched in Maryland, there are few brands which haven’t been licensed yet. For example, FOX Bet hasn’t applied to the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency for a license yet, but may in the future. Meanwhile, WynnBET has qualified for a license but hasn’t gone live. 

However, the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency meets monthly to review new licensees, and there are dozens of licenses available, there will be plenty more operators launching in MD soon.

Best Sportsbook Apps and Bonuses in Maryland

DraftKings

DraftKings was one of the first online sportsbooks to launch in Maryland, going live on November 23, 2022. However, it has already won over local betting fans through its partnership with the local football powerhouse Baltimore Ravens. 

The partnership saw DraftKings become an official sport betting sponsor of the team and offers fans exclusive gameday experiences, autographed merchandise, and VIP events during the NFL season. You’ll also see DraftKings advertising around the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium and exposure on the team’s social media platforms. 

The partnership with the sportsbook also allows for DraftKings to launch a sportsbook at M&T Bank Stadium, as the stadium is one of the designated licensees for a retail sportsbook in Maryland.

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FanDuel

FanDuel has a big presence in Maryland, thanks to the retail sportsbook it operates at the Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland. You can visit this retail sportsbook and place bets on sports while watching events on a 100-foot media wall. There are another 40 TV screens with the media wall, so you don’t miss a moment of the action.

FanDuel launched its online sportsbook in Maryland on November 23, 2022, the first day of online sports betting. The brand is also partnered with the NFL’s Washington Commanders, which has many fans in MD. 

FanDuel is the official daily fantasy partner of the Commanders, and FanDuel has prominent stadium branding around FedEx Field. The sportsbook offers bettors unique gameday experiences and a special FanDuel section on game days.

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BetMGM

As MGM Resorts operates the MGM National Harbor Casino, it is no surprise that BetMGM is licensed to operate in the state. In fact, the brand runs a retail sportsbook at the casino. Up to 350 people can visit and enjoy the stadium-style seating, 24/7 betting kiosks, and a 110-foot screen showing non-stop sports action.

The BetMGM online sportsbook is available in Maryland, and the sportsbook is an official partner of the Baltimore Ravens. You can earn special promotions while betting with the sportsbook app for the Ravens, including promotions on the team and real-life Ravens prizes.

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PointsBet

Maryland became the 13th state where PointsBet is live in the US after the brand launched its online sportsbook on November 23, 2022. The sportsbook partnered with The Riverboat on the Potomac in September 2022, which allowed it to get its license with the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.

The riverboat casino features a PointsBet retail sportsbook, featuring 21 high-resolution screens, a sports bar and restaurant, an exclusive lounge area, booth seating, and standing room. The riverside location is a great place to bet with hundreds of other sports fans.

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Maryland Legislation Timeline

• April 2018: Anticipating a favorable ruling in the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), lawmakers put forward HB 1014 to put sports betting to a public referendum. The vote passes the House convincingly but not the Senate due to the legislative council session ending before a PASPA ruling.
• May 14, 2018: The US Supreme Court overturns PASPA, allowing states to legalize sports betting. Having undertaken a study of the impact of sports betting in 2017, Maryland appears in a strong position to take advantage of this ruling and is well-poised to be one of the first states to legalize sports betting. 
• April 2019: Lawmakers discuss whether sports betting can be legalized without needing a public vote. However, this is shot down by the state attorney general, and no sports betting bills pass before the end of the legislative session.
• January 2020: Lawmakers put sports betting bills SB 4, SB 58, and HB 225 to legalize sports betting. 
• March 2020: A combination of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic and different political agendas derail efforts to legalize sports betting in Maryland. 
• November 2020: Sports betting is added to the November ballot, asking whether the public support sports betting to raise money for education. Sports betting is heavily favored in the vote, moving the issue of legalization to lawmakers. 
• February 2, 2021: HB 940 is presented to the House to legalize retail and online sports betting with a flat tax rate of 15% on sports betting revenue. Both the House and the Senate support the bill. 
• May 18, 2021: HB 940 is signed by Gov. Hogan, bringing legal sports betting to Maryland three years after the US Supreme Court overturned PASPA. 
• December 9, 2021: The first legal sports bet in Maryland is placed by Gov. Hogan in the BetMGM Sportsbook at the MGM National Harbor Casino. Four retail sportsbooks open shortly after this official launch, with Barstool, Caesars, FanDuel, and TwinSpires all going live. 
• June 2022: Gov. Hogan publicly voices his frustration at how long it is taking to launch online sports betting. The state’s regulator declares this is due to a study on gender and ethnic diversity in sports betting mandated by HB 940.  
• November 23, 2022: Online sports betting in Maryland goes live 18 months after sports betting was legalized.

Maryland State Sports Teams

There are three major league sports teams based in Maryland, even if only two of these franchises carry the name of the Old Line State. There are two NFL teams and one MLB team with stadiums in MD. NBA and NHL fans can follow teams from nearby Washington D.C., with the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals playing in the district.

Baltimore Ravens

Pro football first arrived in Baltimore in 1947, when the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) granted an expansion franchise to the city, the Baltimore Colts. When the AAFC and NFL merged in 1950, the Colts were one of the three teams to join the league. 

While that team was dissolved after two unsuccessful years in the NFL, interest in football in the city continued, and the second Baltimore Colts were established in 1953. The Colts would controversially move to Indianapolis in the dead of night in 1984, but Baltimore continued to have significant interest in a team. MD was part of a second relocation controversy when Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns, moved the team to Baltimore in 1996 to become Baltimore Ravens. 

The Baltimore Ravens may have only been formed in 1996, but the franchise has had a major impact on the NFL since it started. The backbone for the Ravens’ success was created in the 1996 Draft when the team added Jonathan Odgen and Ray Lewis. Both players had Hall of Fame careers with the Ravens and led the team to its first Super Bowl in 2001. 

Lewis was still there when the Ravens won a second Super Bowl in 2013. The team has hope for a third Lombardi trophy behind the elite quarterback play of Lamar Jackson.

Baltimore Orioles

A charter team of the American League, the Baltimore Orioles compete in the MLB’s AL East and play its home games at the beautiful Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which is regularly voted as one of the best ballparks in MLB. 

The Orioles started life as the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St Louis and becoming the St Louis Browns. The team would remain there for 52 years before being purchased by a collection of civic interests in Baltimore, who relocated the team to Maryland. 

The side adopted its team name from the official state bird of Maryland, although other baseball teams had used the name prior to its use by the current side. Nicknames include the O’s and the Birds. 

The O’s enjoyed its greatest period of success between 1966 and 1983 when the team won six American League Pennants and three World Series. However, success has been limited since then, with only five postseason appearances from 1983 to 2022. The side was the last charter member of the American League to win a pennant and win a World Series.

Washington Commanders

Washington Commanders play in the NFL’s NFC East Division, with a home field in Landover, Maryland. Its stadium, FedEx Field, is the second largest NFL stadium by capacity. The team was founded in 1932 as Boston Braves but moved to Washington D.C. in 1937. 

The Commanders won the 1937 and 1942 NFL Championship games and went to a further four title games between 1936-1945, but found more consistent success in the 1980s, with three Super Bowl wins under the coaching of Joe Gibbs.

Its last win was in 1991 when Washington defeated Jim Kelly’s Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI. Since then, despite posting nine winning seasons and four divisional titles, the team only has two playoff wins. Overall, they have won five league championships (two pre-merger, three in the Super Bowl era), five conference championships, and fifteen divisional titles.

University of Maryland Terrapins

College sports betting is legal in Maryland, including bets on teams from MD. This means you can bet on teams like the Maryland Terrapins with most online sportsbooks. The most successful sports program at the University of Maryland is lacrosse, with the women’s team winning 14 national championships. The men’s team has also claimed four titles. In addition, the women’s field hockey team has won eight national championships.

The Terrapins football team won one claimed national title in 1953. Some of the top NFL players have come through the ranks at Maryland, including Hall of Famers Randy White and Stan Jones.

United States Naval Academy Midshipmen

The Navy Midshipmen are a part of one of the most anticipated games on the college football calendar - the Army-Navy game. The two schools match up annually, and the game is often the last of the college football regular season. Thousands of fans turn up to watch, and millions more tune in through TV broadcasts. Along with football, there are clashes between the Navy’s Drum and Bugle Corps marching band and the Army’s equivalent.

The Midshipmen have also excelled in fencing, winning three NCAA national championships. However, the program has also claimed another 25 fencing titles not bestowed by the NCAA.

Maryland Sporting Events

Outside of major league sports, many great sporting events take place in Maryland. Check out some of the best sports you can catch when visiting MD. 

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is run on the third Saturday in May each year and is one of the three events in the horse racing Triple Crown. The event is held at Pimlico Race Course and used to attract an audience of over 120,000 each year pre-Covid 19. 

The first race was run in 1873, two years before the Kentucky Derby, and the mile-and-a-half race was named by former Governor of Maryland, Oden Bowie. He named it after a colt, Preakness, who won the Dinner Party Stakes the day the Pimlico opened. 

Winners of the Preakness Stakes include famous horses like Justify, American Pharoah, Seattle Slew, and Secretariat. Secretariat’s 1:52 running time is a speed record on the course, while Smarty Jones set the record margin of victory in 2004 with a victory of 11 ½ lengths. This beat the ten-length record set at the first race in 1873. 

The crowd noise when a winning horse passes the post is one of the most exhilarating experiences in American sports. 

Army-Navy Game

The Army-Navy game is one of college football’s greatest rivalry games played between the Army Black Nights and Maryland’s own Navy Midshipmen. The game marks the end of the college football season and is played after the FBS conference championship games. It is also the final game of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, played between the three service academies.

The first game took place in November 1890, and the series has been annual since 1930. It is one of the most famous rivalries in college football and is frequently attended by the US President. It has been nationally televised since 1945.

In the first half of the 20th century, both sides were college football powerhouses, and the game had national championship implications throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. In 1945 and 1946, the teams entered the game as #1 and #2. The 1945 game has been labeled as “game of the century”. 

The venue for the game changes annually across stadiums in the Northeast, returning to Maryland in 2024 at FedEx Field and in 2025 at the M&T Bank Stadium. 

Maryland-Johns Hopkins Men’s Lacrosse 

Described as one of the most intense collegiate sports rivalries in the country, Maryland Terrapins and Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men’s lacrosse teams meet at least once yearly in the Big Ten Conference’s Men’s lacrosse season. 

Lacrosse is huge in Maryland, and the sport is the state’s official team sport. These teams have played each other more than 100 times since 1895. The games are worth catching for the high-quality lacrosse and the electric atmosphere.

The two sides are usually among the best teams in the country each year, and the two have shared 13 NCAA national titles and 44 pre-NCAA national championships between them. 

The rivalry has featured a number of periods of dominance from either team: Johns Hopkins won fourteen straight games from 1977-1986, while Maryland won five out of six games between 1951 and 1956. Maryland beat Johns Hopkins in 2022 on its way to winning the national championship to seal five consecutive wins against their rivals.

Military Bowl

The Military Bowl is a postseason college football game played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD. It is one of the newer bowl games in the NCAAF postseason, beginning in 2008. 

The game was originally played at RFK Memorial Stadium in Washington D.C., but moved to the home of Navy Midshipmen in 2013. Originally known as the EagleBank Bowl, it took on its current name in 2010 after reaching a tie-in agreement with Army & Navy. When neither is bowl eligible, the organizers offered a bid to teams from the MAC and Pac-12. 

Starting in 2014, organizers entered into an agreement for the game to feature an ACC team against a team from the American. This agreement was extended until the end of the 2025 college football season. 

Navy and Wake Forest are the most successful sides in the game, winning twice, while Navy and Temple hold the record for most appearances, with three. North Carolina has the record for most points in a game, with 55 in 2019. 

Jousting

While lacrosse is the state’s official team sport, jousting takes the crown for being Maryland’s state sport. Jousting tournaments have been held in MD since colonial times, and you can attend competitions across the Old Line State. 

From May to October, there are jousting meets held twice a week. Most competitions are organized by the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association, with many events held at locations like Historic Jerusalem Mill Village and Brunswick. The Maryland State Jousting Championship is usually held in October and sees the best jousters in the US go against one another.

Maryland Land-Based Sportsbooks

As online sports betting took 18 months to launch after its legalization, many bettors’ only option to bet in MD was to visit retail sportsbooks. There are seven retail sportsbooks in the state, all based in a gambling location like a brick-and-mortar casino or bingo hall. 

You can visit these sportsbooks to place bets while enjoying the atmosphere created by hundreds of other sports fans. While getting access to all the same markets as online players, you can also easily access amenities like bars and restaurants. There will also be straightforward ways to view the latest sports events like giant TV screens and sports tickers. 

Check out all the retail sportsbooks in the state below.