Maryland Casino Law

7/13/2022

Maryland Live Casino Lawsuit
Kentucky Casino Laws

Maryland Gambling Laws and Regulatory Organizations If you want to order a drink while playing at any of the Maryland casinos, please be aware that state gaming regulations do not allow casinos to provide free alcoholic beverages. The legal gambling age in Maryland is 18 for lotteries for pari-mutuel wagering, while you must be 21 or older to enter or wager at a casino. Can you smoke in Maryland Casinos? Smoking is permitted in designated outdoor areas at four of the state’s six casinos. However, this practice is prohibited at the Hollywood Casino and Rocky Gap.

Maryland has the following domestic gambling options legally licensed and regulated by the state: sports betting lounges (launch TBA), casinos, racinos, horse racing betting, lotteries, and charitable gambling. As far as state-licensed online gambling, Maryland does not.

Casino Gambling: Legal
Poker: Legal
Horse Racing Betting: Legal
Dog Racing Betting: Not Legal
Lottery: Legal
Daily Fantasy Sports: Legal
Charitable Gaming: Legal
Social Gambling: Not Legal
(online fantasy sports bets allowed)
Online Gambling: Not Specified

Maryland gambling law allows for a number of regulated gambling markets, including traditional casino gaming. Maryland has a pivotal place in American history. One of the original 13 colonies, Maryland is also considered the global epicenter of religious freedom, having been formed as a refuge for people fleeing persecution in Europe.

Maryland Live Casino Lawsuit

Maryland was built on gaming revenue. Like other colonies, Maryland needed to raise money quickly to build infrastructure. Raffles and lottery-style games, produced by colonial governments and private industry, raised the funds needed to build everything from schools to industrial parks. Though gambling slowed down in the state in the 19th and 20th centuries, a wave of interest in revenue from commercial gaming eventually reached Maryland, and lotteries, casino games, and OTB race betting have all seen some form of legalization in the past ten or twelve years.

Over the course of a decade, Maryland lawmakers have quietly created one of the most gambling-friendly environments in the United States. Starting in 2008 with the legalization of slot and video poker machines, all the way up to today, with Maryland voters soon to line up and decide the future of DFS betting in their state, Maryland is a hotbed of progressive gaming politics.

Before we dive head first into Maryland gambling law, we’d like to share some figures with you to help put everything in perspective. You’ll notice that Maryland makes a huge amount of money off their regulated gaming. That’s a clear sign that the state has consistently moved to the left on gaming politics for its easy revenue stream.

Age Requirements: 21
Approximate Annual Gambling Revenue: $2.4 billion
Approximate Annual Gambling Taxes: $1.2 billion
Number of Commercial Casinos: 5 (plus another opening in 2017)
Number of Racinos: 1
Number of Tribal Casinos: 0
Casino Regulatory Body: Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency
Lottery National Rankings: 5th

It’s funny to think that just ten years ago you couldn’t play a legal casino game anywhere in the state of Maryland. With new casino projects and gambling laws popping up every year, we think state law on this topic is likely to be in flux for several years to come. That said, Maryland law is very clear on what sorts of gambling are and aren’t legal. The information below is designed to fill you in on the rules and regulations of legal gambling in Maryland, and represents our most honest interpretation of the state’s existing betting laws.

Introduction to Maryland Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

Maryland slot machine casino gambling consists of six land-based casinos with video lottery terminal (VLT) slot machines. Cruise ships traveling in international waters also offer onboard gambling options.

A minimum theoretical payout limit was been set by Maryland law. However, no actual return statistics are publicly available.

This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.

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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in Maryland*

The minimum legal gambling age in Maryland depends upon the gambling activity:

Land-Based Casinos: 21
Poker Rooms: 21
Bingo: 18
Lottery: 18
Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18

Further, the minimum gambling age is 18 for cruises shipping out of Baltimore.

In 2008, Maryland voters approved having slot machines at five locations. This constitutional amendment included a licensing and regulatory legal framework for casino operators, employees, and contractors as well as specifying where to allocate state gaming income tax revenue.

In 2012, Maryland voters further approved a gaming expansion bill allowing table games at Maryland’s casinos as well as another Maryland casino. This sixth gambling license, awarded in December 2013, resulted in MGM National Harbor’s opening 3 years later.

*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.

Slot Machine Private Ownership in Maryland

It is legal to own a slot machine in Maryland privately if it is 25 years old or older.

The state gaming commission is Maryland Lottery and Gaming, responsible for overseeing gaming regulations compliance, employee background checks, the day-to-day operation of machines at each casino, and more.

Gaming Control Board in Maryland

There are six non-tribal casinos and two international cruise ships based in Maryland.

The largest casino in Maryland is Live! Casino Hotel Maryland with 3,853 gaming machines in January 2020.

The second-largest casino is MGM National Harbor with 3,135 gaming machines in January 2020.

Casinos in Maryland

Commercial Casinos in Maryland

Maryland’s six land-based casinos are:

Hollywood Casino Perryville located 44 miles northeast of Baltimore.
Live! Casino Hotel Maryland in Hanover located 11 miles southwest of Baltimore and 30 miles northeast of Washington, DC.
MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill located 14 miles southwest of Baltimore.
Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin located 133 miles southeast of Baltimore on the Delaware border.
Rocky Gap Casino Resort Golf in Flintstone located 132 miles west of Baltimore near the Pennsylvania border.

Tribal Casinos in Maryland

Maryland has no tribal casinos due to having no federally-recognized American Indian tribes.

Other Gambling Establishments

As an alternative to enjoying Maryland slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Maryland is:

Kentucky Casino Laws

North: Pennsylvania Slots
East: Delaware Slots
South: Virginia Slots and the District of Columbia Slots
West: West Virginia Slots

Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Maryland.

Our Maryland Slots Facebook Group

Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Maryland? If so, join our new Maryland slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.

There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in Maryland. Join us!

Payout Returns in Maryland

Maryland gaming regulations require a minimum theoretical payout of 87%, on average over its lifetime, for each VLT gaming machine. Further, overall for all VLTs at a casino, the minimum and maximum theoretical payouts must average between 90% and 95%.

Unfortunately, monthly revenue statistics from the gaming commission excludes amount returned to players. Therefore, actual return statistics are not publicly available.

Summary of Maryland Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

Maryland slot machine casino gambling consists of VLT-style slot machines at six casinos. Further, two cruise ships offer slot machines when sailing out of the Port of Baltimore to international destinations.

Maryland gaming regulations set a minimum theoretical payout of 87%. Also, overall for each casino averaged over all slot machines, they’ve set minimum and maximum payout returns of 90% and 95%.

Annual Progress in Maryland Slot Machine Casino Gambling

Over the last year, there has been no change in the slots gaming industry in Maryland.

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