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Maryland lawmakers moved two sweepstakes casino bills through the House, sending both measures to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. At the same time, a separate push for online casino legalization lost momentum before a key deadline.
Good to Know
- HB 295 passed the House on March 20 by a 105 to 25 vote.
- HB 1226 passed on March 23 by a 134 to 2 vote.
- Maryland online casino bills did not advance before Crossover Day.
Maryland House Moves 2 Sweepstakes Casino Bills to Senate
Maryland is getting closer to a ban on sweepstakes casinos. House Bill 295 and House Bill 1226 both cleared the House and now head to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
HB 295 would create a new criminal ban on what the bill calls interactive games. In the bill, that means online or mobile platforms using multiple currencies that can be exchanged for prizes or cash equivalents while simulating casino-style gaming, lottery products, or sports betting. Games offering only non-cash prizes would stay outside the ban.
The bill goes beyond operators alone. It also targets promoters and others tied to those platforms. Penalties would range from $10,000 to $100,000, along with prison terms of up to three years.
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HB 295 took a slower path before reaching the floor. After a February 5 hearing before the Ways and Means Committee, the bill sat for more than a month. Lawmakers finally moved it on March 19 with changes to enforcement language. During floor debate, some members raised questions about whether free-to-play users could get caught in the wording.
A second bill, HB 1226, would strengthen enforcement tools. Regulators would gain broader power to issue stop orders, block payments and access, and pursue civil and criminal penalties against illegal operators and service providers.
Maryland lawmakers still need to pass at least one of the bills before the legislative session ends. If that happens, Maryland would join Indiana and six other states that have already banned sweepstakes casinos.
While anti-sweepstakes legislation kept moving, online casino legislation went the other way. Two Senate bills that would have created an iGaming framework failed to advance before the General Assembly crossover deadline, leaving that effort stalled for now.
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