It is thought that there are currently six casinos in operation legally in Maryland. They can offer everything from poker and blackjack to roulette and slots. Of course, like many states in the country, there is a minimum gambling age when you are in Maryland. You are able to play bingo, racing and the lottery if you are 18 years old. Governor Hogan Issues Emergency Order to Close All Maryland Casinos, Racetracks, and Simulcast Betting Facilities to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19. Reiterates That Failure to Follow Order Prohibiting Mass Gatherings Is a Crime, And Will Be Enforced If Businesses Fail to Comply.

• Maryland Casino Laws
• Maryland Live Casino Lawsuit

Are Online Sports Betting Apps Legal In Maryland?

Yes, Maryland sports betting is now legal. On November 3, 2020, two-thirds of voting Marylanders said yes to Question 2, the Sports Betting Measure that effectively legalized sports betting in the state.

It’s now up to the state’s lawmakers to hammer out the rules and regulations. Governor Larry Hogan will work with the General Assembly when the first 90-day legislative session of 2021 begins on January 19.

Assuming Maryland lawmakers can come to agreeable terms, folks in the state could have access to legal online sports betting and in-person sportsbooks as soon as mid-2021.

Are Online Gambling Apps Legal In Maryland?

Aside from online sports betting, bettors in Maryland have a variety of exciting online gaming options where they can legally win money and cash prizes. These include daily fantasy sports, sweepstakes sites, horse racing sites, and the online lottery.

However, Maryland has yet to legalize online casinos or online poker. So, yes, some online gambling apps are legal, but not all.

Top Online Maryland Sportsbook Apps

We won’t know the exact landscape of the Maryland sports betting market for several months. However, we do know that the following sports betting companies invested heavily in the “Vote Yes on Question 2” political action group:

• DraftKings
• FanDuel
• MGM (of BetMGM Sportsbook)

So while we can’t guarantee these sportsbooks will be available in the future, it’s a safe bet.

In-Depth Online Maryland Sports Betting Apps & Bonus Offers

We can use the neighboring state of Virginia and other jurisdictions as a guide for what bettors in Maryland can expect from at least three of the upcoming sports betting platforms. While these details may change, it’s unlikely as they’ve stayed fairly consistent since early 2019.

DraftKings Sportsbook Maryland

• Bonus: 20% first deposit match up to $1000
• App: iOS, Android, Web Browser
• Projected Launch: Mid to Late 2021
• Why We Like App: The DraftKings Sportsbook offers one of the highest quality sports betting apps in practically every way. It’s a brand that consistently scores high when we review online sportsbooks.

Becoming the highest rated app in the App Store is no easy feat, but DraftKings more than earned it. It doesn’t suddenly freeze and quit like so many of its competitors, making it an extremely consistent sports betting platform worth looking forward to.

FanDuel Sportsbook Maryland

• Bonus: Risk-free bet up to $1,000
• App: iOS, Android, Web Browser
• Projected Launch: Mid to Late 2021
• Why We Like App: The FanDuel Sportsbook is on par with DraftKings for reliability, market depth, competitive odds, and ongoing promotions. Either one is a safe choice for high-quality online sports betting.

FanDuel has a comparably well-regarded sports betting app to that of its biggest competitor, DraftKings. Both companies offer a robust, in-depth, yet easy to use sportsbook platform that makes joining both worth it when they become available in Maryland.

BetMGM Sportsbook Maryland

• Bonus: Risk-free bet up to $500
• App: iOS, Android, Web Browser
• Projected Launch: Mid to Late 2021
• Why We Like App: BetMGM lives up to the brand recognition of MGM to provide a highly competitive sports betting platform, including odds that often beat out both FanDuel and DraftKings.

BetMGM always has an exciting promotion on offer. At the time of writing this article, they were offering a $20 free bet when you place a $50 NFL bet. While not as well-known as DraftKings or FanDuel in terms of sports betting, it’s quickly becoming a prominent sportsbook figure in the legal US market.

The MGM casino brand is already operating in Maryland at MGM National Harbor, so it is assumed BetMGM would be one of the first sportsbooks to launch in Maryland.

Top Maryland Online Casino Apps

The best and most trusted sweepstakes sites in Maryland allow you to legally win cash prizes without requiring you to make a purchase. Here are the top four:

• Chumba Casino
• LuckyLand
• Funzpoints
• Global Poker

In-Depth Maryland Online Casino Sites & Bonus Offers

Status Of Online Gambling In Maryland

Although online casinos are not legal in Maryland, sweepstakes casinos are a great legal alternative. Much like being on the casino floor, sweepstakes casinos offer games like blackjack, roulette, video poker, and everyone’s favorite game, video slots.

What sweepstakes casinos don’t do is have you play with real money. Instead, the sweepstakes casinos have you win coins that can be exchanged for cash prizes or gift cards.

Games are lightning-fast, offer plenty of action, and could result in big windfalls if you are successful and a little bit lucky.

Sweepstakes casinos have come a long way in the past few years, having improved the user experience to make the gameplay faster, more stable, and overall more enjoyable.

Chumba Casino

Chumba Casino is available and legal for players in Maryland. The sweepstakes casino offers a mobile app and website platform that allows players to enjoy a variety of games.

One of the most popular sweepstakes casinos in the US is Chumba Casino. It offers a lot of what you’d find on the floor at a Maryland retail casino. The games available at Chumba Casino include:

• Classic Slots
• Video Slots
• 3D Slots
• Progressive Jackpot Slots
• Blackjack
• Two Roulette Variations
• Jacks or Better Video Poker

Instead of the player making a bet with real money, they buy Gold Coins bundled with free Sweeps Coins. Sweeps Coins are the currency for sweeps games, and winnings can be exchanged for cash prizes.

Not only is creating an account secure at Chumba Casino, but the site also returns your winnings quickly. There are numerous opportunities to add coins to your bankroll with weekly bonuses and promotions as well.

LuckyLand

Another legal sweepstakes casino site is LuckyLand, which is home to some of the most enjoyable and lively slot games this side of Las Vegas. Interestingly, LuckyLand’s slots are wholly unique to their site, meaning you can’t find them anywhere else.

While Chumba Casino is more popular, LuckyLand has a lot to offer in its own right.

Where Chumba gives you two free Sweeps Coins for joining, LuckyLand gives you ten. Also, you need to win at least 100 Sweeps Coins to redeem a cash prize at Chumba. At LuckyLand, the minimum for cash prize redemption is 50 Sweeps Coins.

However, LuckyLand is limited to slots and scratch-off games. They do not currently offer any table games. Still, if you’re a slots player, you can find a wide variety of options, including progressive jackpots.

Both sites are set up similarly, with the main difference being game selection.

Funzpoints

Funzpoints is structured a bit differently than Chumba and LuckyLand. But at the end of the day, the sweepstakes casino model is consistent across the board.

At Funzpoints, instead of changing from Gold Coins or Sweep Coins, you change from “Standard” to “Premium.” In Premium mode, you’re playing the games with coins that can be directly exchanged for a cash prize. In Standard, you play games strictly for fun like you would with Gold Coins at Chumba or LuckyLand.

However, Gold Coins can’t bring you any sort of winnings (other than more Gold Coins). At Funzpoints, Standard mode can get you into random prize drawings. The more you win, the more entries you have for giveaways.

Remember, sweepstakes casinos are not usually structured like a giveaway promotion. At Chumba, LuckyLand, and Funzpoints, winning certain coins means you can exchange them directly for a cash prize, the size of which relies on how many Sweeps Coins (or Funzpoints) you’ve won.

Online Poker In Maryland

Sweepstakes poker is very popular in the US. It is legal in 49 states as well as the District of Columbia (the lone holdout being the State of Washington).

How Sweepstakes Poker Works

When comparing sweepstakes poker to a common card room or even an online poker room, there are several noticeable differences. The first is that sweepstakes poker utilizes coins or tokens in their game instead of actual money. Although you need money to turn into coins before you begin playing, you aren’t making bets with money like you would in a casino card room.

After getting the coins, you can then enter tournaments with varying sizes of other participants and cash prizes for the winners. Most sweepstakes poker sites offer weekly bonuses for deposits and how often you play, giving you the chance to gain even more entries to tournaments and other events.

Global Poker

The largest sweepstakes poker site in the country and a popular place to play for Maryland gamers is Global Poker. After you create an account, make a deposit and verify your account information, you can sit down and play Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, or Jackpot Sit’n’Go.

While Texas Hold ‘Em and Omaha are widely known in poker circles, the Jackpot Sit’n’Go is a three-player game where the winner can claim anywhere from 2x to 10,000x the buy-in as the prize. Blinds double every three minutes making this unique poker game an experience that keeps you on your toes for the entire tournament.

Global Poker connects players from across the US. With a host of rotating promotions, you can expect new games each week and a variety of prize packages.

Sweepstakes poker is a terrific option if you like the action of the poker table without feeling like you need a serious bankroll to sit down with the big boys.

Legal Online Gambling Options

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) In Maryland

In states where sports betting is not legal, daily fantasy sports (DFS) fill the void by offering a legal alternative. Since success at DFS hedges on skill and sports knowledge rather than luck, it is not classified as gambling.

DFS is popular in Maryland with companies such as DraftKings, FanDuel, and Monkey Knife Fight, offering customers numerous ways to take on competition from around the U.S.

On all three sites, the primary way that DFS players earn money is through entering tournaments that offer a slice of the prize purse to the top teams in a group. For example, imagine that 5,000 players enter a tournament and the top 50 teams are paid. Those winners receive a percentage of the total prize pool based upon their place in the final standings.

DraftKings and FanDuel are widely considered to be the top two companies for DFS events. They offer players the opportunity to build a virtual roster of professional athletes in a variety of sports. Then, they take the player’s assembled team and compete in events to earn points.

What Is Monkey Knife Fight?

Another site that is growing in popularity is Monkey Knife Fight (MKF). Although the site offers traditional point scoring like FanDuel or DraftKings, they also offer “over/under” contests that allow you the opportunity to take home double your wager.

For example, let’s say Tom Brady is playing on Sunday. MPF might set Brady’s over/under on yards thrown at 250. You then can choose if he will go over or under that total. After you make a few similar choices with other NFL players, you follow along as they play, and if your lineup matches with your choices, you win your bet.

Betting On Horse Races In Maryland

Maryland offers betting on horse races for both in-state racing and off-track racing around the globe. There are several horse racetracks in Maryland, including Pimlico Race Course, which hosts the Preakness Stakes (the second race of the Triple Crown). All racetracks offer in-person betting on on-site races. You can also bet on races being held at other tracks in the US and abroad.

At many Maryland tracks, including the MGM National Harbor Racebook in Oxon Hill, you can make Off Track Betting (OTB) wagers. OTB refers to any race being held at another track in the US or world. Racebooks display betting lines and bettors may place wagers against the current odds.

Racebooks stay open year-round in Maryland to accept wagers on horse races in other parts of the world. You can walk into an off-track betting parlor, look at the current odds, and place a wager on a horse to win, place, or show. If you are feeling adventurous, you can lay money down on a popular parlay bet like a trifecta or super-trifecta.

TVG is an online gambling option for race bettors in Maryland. Through the company’s mobile app or via a web browser, bettors can place wagers on races throughout the US and internationally. The site offers a sign-up bonus when you open an account and also televises the races for a complete experience that is legal in Maryland.

Online Lottery In Maryland

Maryland approved the state’s lottery in 1973, paving the way for billions of dollars in revenue and prizes for those fortunate enough to hold winning tickets.

Over 4,400 retailers offer a wide variety of exciting lottery games to customers. The famous Mega Millions game, for example, pools tickets from over 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands to offer a jackpot that can climb into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Another well-known multi-state game, Powerball, also grows into the hundreds of millions until a winner is crowned. It creates an excitement that spans the nation as players hope to bring home the winning ticket.

Online Subscription Service

Maryland offers limited online lottery options, but they are not non-existent. Through a subscription service, players can repeat their favorite numbers in the multi-state Mega Millions, Powerball, and Cash4Life games. They can also participate in the Multi-Match contest offered by the Maryland Lottery.

A subscription account can be set up online, but the application and payment must be mailed to the Lottery office for processing. Once you are set up, you no longer have to worry about getting to the store on time to create a ticket. Instead, you can relax and enjoy following the numbers each week as lottery officials hold their drawings

What Types Of Online Betting Bonuses Are Available In Maryland?

Horse Racing Bonuses

Horse racing sites offer the same sort of bonuses as online sportsbooks. At TVG, one of the more popular options in Maryland, you can receive a 50% deposit match up to $250. They’ll also do special promotions around major events, such as the Triple Crown races.

Maryland Lottery Promotions

The Maryland Lottery does not offer any direct bonuses, such as a deposit offer. However, they do allow residents to participate in second-chance drawings online. As the name suggests, qualifying losing tickets, such as a scratch-off, can be scanned for a second chance at a prize.

Daily Fantasy Sports Bonuses

Most of the major DFS platforms offer bonuses. These usually involve deposit matching bonuses like at a standard sportsbook.

Further, FanDuel offers a no-deposit bonus of $5 just for creating an account that you can use to enter contests.

Simply use the bonus cash to enter a DFS contest, and whatever you might win is yours to withdraw.

Bonuses At Sweepstakes Casinos

Bonuses at sweepstakes casinos are either free Sweeps Coins or discounts on coin packages. For example, you can receive a $20 coin package for $10 at LuckyLand after joining. At Chumba, you’re rewarded one Sweeps Coins every day that you login.

Bonuses At Sweepstakes Poker Sites

Global Poker offers a $30 coins package for $15 after you sign up. That means you receive half-off 30 Sweeps Coins. Ongoing bonus offers at Global Poker are similar.

Future Online Sportsbook Bonuses

When online sports betting sites and apps launch in Maryland, you’ll have access to a range of bonuses. Risk-free bets, deposit matches, no-deposit bonuses, and other offers are how these different platforms compete with one another (beyond the odds, of course).

There’s also no law against participating in as many promotions as you like, making it a great way to try the different options before choosing a go-to.

Why Should I Trust Regulated Betting Sites?

Strict Oversight

Regulated betting sites are scrutinized by local consumer protection organizations with the goal of keeping bettors safe.

Unregulated betting sites are not put under the same scrutiny, and their jurisdictions are usually places focused on keeping the companies safe, not the players.

When you play illegal sites, your only real recourse is posting on a review site to warn others of joining.

Protecting Your Personal Information And Finances

Regulated sites utilize state-of-the-art encryption technology, and offer bug bounties to anyone who notices a vulnerability on their site. The combination means your personal information and finances remain safe and secure.

Unregulated sites are free to sell your information, create faulty security protocols, and a host of other red flag issues.

Reasonable And Transparent Terms And Conditions

When you use a bonus at a gambling site or app, they’ll be tied to certain terms and conditions. In sports betting, you usually have to bet the bonus amount a certain number of times (rollover requirements) before you can withdraw winnings.

At regulated sites, the rollover requirements are between 1x and 5x. At unregulated sites, they can be as high as 35x or even 50x. Worse yet, the illegal sites will bury that stipulation deep in their terms and conditions.

Betting Via iOS App

Apple doesn’t allow illegal gambling apps in their store, and you can’t download apps from third-party sites onto your iOS device.

Supporting The Local Economy

In Maryland, online gambling sites have to pay 20% of their revenue in state taxes, which go to public works and other state initiatives.

Not Breaking The Law

If you’re found guilty of illegal gambling (which includes betting at unregulated, offshore sites), you can face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. You’re unlikely to be charged, but it’s still a noteworthy risk.

Maryland Online Gambling FAQ

Yes. Sports betting is now legal in Maryland. That includes both in-person sportsbooks as well as online betting apps and sites.

However, lawmakers will begin determining regulations during the 90-day legislative session that begins on January 19, 2021. Then they’ll take applications and distribute licenses. Even the most optimistic estimates put Maryland’s first legal sports betting options at mid to late 2021.

Maryland has no plans to introduce a vote on online casinos or poker sites. It is likely that legal online sports betting revenue could generate more than just taxes. If the new online gambling option generates political capital as well, an online casino and poker site measure could be on a ticket as soon as 2022.

If you’re a Maryland resident, you could start a petition on a measure if you so choose, or wait to support any measure that’s introduced in the coming years.

The State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. This regulatory body is in charge of regulating the state’s gambling both online and in-person. You can learn more about them on the organization’s website.

However, this is more the expected regulator. Lawmakers will determine the exact regulations in the coming months, which will include who will enforce them. But it’s safe to assume that regulator will be the State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency of Maryland.

Yes, you can play DraftKings Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) in Maryland. The state recognizes DFS contests as games of skill rather than luck, and therefore they remain legal. DraftKings DFS was accessible in Maryland prior to sports betting legalization in November 2020.

DraftKings Sportsbook will also be available in the state once regulations are determined and licenses are distributed. There will likely be both an in-person DraftKings Sportsbook and an online option as well.

Online casino games will not become legal in 2021. The state’s legislators did not pass any bills legalizing iGaming on mobile apps or through websites.

Maryland Casino Laws

21. The age requirement for gambling in the State of Maryland is 21 years or older. This applies to both in-person and online gambling.

However, you can win money as an 18-year-old by playing the lottery, daily fantasy sports, or at sweepstakes sites. The 21-year-old requirement is specific to casino gaming and sports betting.

Maryland Live Casino Lawsuit

No. Any real-money online casino offered to people located in Maryland is an illegal, offshore site. By virtue of the site breaking state law, they are not legit and could be an unsafe place to play. Be careful of joining any of these sites, where the least of your worries are local law enforcement. Your personal information and finances are at risk, so proceed at your own risk. We highly recommend avoiding illegal online casinos.