Oct. 6, 2021
Horseshoe, Live!, MGM casinos approved; will now go to the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission for award.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission (MLGCC) today determined that Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover and MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill have met the qualification requirements for sports wagering licenses.
The three casinos are among the 17 entities that were designated in the sports wagering law to conduct sports wagering operations, pending a review of their qualifications to receive licenses. The applications from Horseshoe, Live! and MGM will now be forwarded to the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC), which is responsible for awarding the licenses. In August, the SWARC voted unanimously that the MLGCC’s qualification standards are sufficient for the SWARC to award licenses to the 17 designated entities.
“We’re pleased to have these three applicants approved and move them along to the SWARC,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin. “Our team is diligently implementing the sports wagering law, and we’re one step closer to the first in-person wagers, which we hope will take place by late fall.”
In affirming the qualifications of Horseshoe, Live! and MGM, the MLGCC delegated to Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency (MLGCA) the authority to apply alternative licensing standards, as outlined in state law. The MLGCC may waive certain requirements for applicants that hold licenses from Maryland or other states where “the licensing standards are comprehensive and thorough and provide similar and adequate safeguards” to those required in Maryland (State Government Article § 9-1E-05).
MLGCA determined that Horseshoe, Live! and MGM are qualified because they each have gaming licenses in Maryland. Maryland’s licensing investigations on the three sports wagering operations are ongoing, and any licenses that are issued may be revoked.
After the SWARC, which next meets on October 14, 2021, formally awards licenses to Horseshoe, Live! and MGM, the MLGCA staff will ensure that the three licensees have finalized their systems of internal controls and satisfied other operational requirements before issuing licenses. MLGCA is working with the applicants to expedite these tasks.