Is Online Gambling Legal in Maryland

What Gambling Is Legal in Maryland

Sports Betting in Maryland: Legal Since 2021

Governor Larry Hogan signed House Bill 940 on May 18, 2021. Retail sportsbooks opened first, on December 9, 2021. 

Online betting followed almost a year later, launching November 23, 2022.

Daily Fantasy Sports in Maryland: Legal and Regulated

DFS has a stranger history than you would expect in Maryland. A 2012 law first treated fantasy contests as something other than gambling. 

The state's Attorney General then warned in January 2016 that this should have gone through a referendum in the first place. That doubt finally got resolved in 2021, when HB 940 folded daily fantasy into the same statewide vote that legalized sports betting.

Online Casino in Maryland: Not Legal

We can’t say online casinos here are simply illegal, but structurally blocked. Expanding gaming in Maryland requires voter approval at a general election. 

A bill by itself can't open this market, no matter how much support it has in the legislature.

Sweepstakes Casinos in Maryland: Shut Out by the Regulator

There's no law banning sweepstakes casinos in Maryland, which surprises many people. House Bill 295 tried to change that, threatening operators with fines up to $100,000 and even prison time. It cleared the House easily, 105 to 24, back in March 2026. Then it just stalled out in the Senate.

What pushed sweepstakes brands out was aggressive cease-and-desist enforcement from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, not a law.

Prediction Markets: Federal, and Contested Here

Kalshi and its rivals like to point to Washington for cover, arguing federal CFTC oversight settles the matter. Maryland's regulators looked at that argument and picked a fight anyway. 

They're pursuing active legal challenges against these platforms right now. They insist that trading on sports outcomes still needs a state's blessing, federal license or not. Nobody's won that argument yet.

The Legal Gambling Age in Maryland

21 covers sports betting and casino gaming. 

The Maryland Lottery, pari-mutuel racing, and bingo are all 18 instead. Fantasy contests currently follow the regulator's existing rules, though a 2026 bill proposed raising that age to 21.

Who Regulates Gambling in Maryland

Maryland Lottery and Gaming

The state splits this job between two bodies, and almost nobody explains the difference clearly. 

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency handles day-to-day regulation.

The Licensing Commission

The Sports Wagering Application Review Commission, a separate body created specifically for this purpose, actually awards licenses. That's unusual among US states. Make sure to check the Agency's own licensee list if you want to verify any operator is legal.

Prediction markets stay outside of Maryland's laws. All such operators are regulated by the CFTC.

Where to Get Help in Maryland

You can always call 1-800-GAMBLER for help. The Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling also runs its own responsible gambling resources. What’s more, the state offers a voluntary exclusion program if you want to self-restrict.

Where You Can Bet in Maryland

Licensed Sportsbooks in Maryland

Eleven online sportsbooks currently operate in Maryland:

• FanDuel, 
• DraftKings, 
• BetMGM, 
• Caesars 
• Sportsbook, 
• Fanatics Sportsbook, 
• BetRivers, 
• theScore Bet, 
• bet365, 
• Bally Bet, 
• betPARX, and 
• Crab Sports. 

That last one is a Maryland-founded brand, which matters if local ownership matters to you.

Are BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings Legal Here?

Is FanDuel legal in Maryland? Yes. What about BetMGM and DraftKings? Same answer. All three, along with the rest of the sportsbooks above, hold real Maryland sports wagering licenses. Some of them offer DFS, too.

You do need to be physically inside Maryland to place a bet. Yet, one restriction is worth flagging: sportsbooks can't offer proposition bets on individual college athletes. Team-based college markets, including Maryland, Navy, Towson, and UMBC, are all still fine.

What Is Not Available

Maryland has no licensed online casino, and no online poker either. Both would need that same statewide vote before anything changes. Prediction markets such as Kalshi are federally regulated, and don't fall under Maryland's laws. Check our prediction markets tracker to see where prediction markets are live in each state.

Tax on Gambling Winnings in Maryland

Maryland State Tax on Winnings

Maryland taxes gambling and contest winnings as ordinary income on a graduated scale.  New brackets added in the 2025 budget legislation pushed the top rate to 6.5%.

Your County Takes a Share Too

This is the part almost every competing page gets wrong by quoting only the state number. Every Maryland county and Baltimore City adds its own mandatory local income tax on top, and that rate now runs as high as 3.30%, not the 3.20% you'll see on older pages.  Combine the two, and the real top rate reaches roughly 9.8%, not the state's 6.5% alone. Where you actually live determines your real number, so don't treat any single figure as universal.

What You Still Owe Federally

Federal tax applies on top of both.  Likewise, operators issue a W-2G once your payout crosses the federal reporting threshold.

General information only; not tax advice.

Pending Maryland Gambling Legislation

Why Online Casino Needs a Referendum

This is the answer to when online casinos might actually happen.  Legalizing it takes two separate steps: 

• The legislature has to pass a bill putting the question on the ballot, and 
• voters then have to approve it themselves. A bill alone accomplishes nothing on its own.

The 2026 Session

Senator Ron Watson tried again this year with two paired bills. SB 761 would have put the referendum question before voters this November. SB 885 would have built the actual regulatory framework, but only if voters said yes first.  Watson withdrew SB 761 on March 13, 2026, after a scheduled Senate hearing got canceled. Without the referendum bill, SB 885 had no realistic path forward either. This marks Watson's 4th consecutive failed attempt, following similar efforts in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Sweepstakes: Enforcement Without a Statute

As covered above, HB 295 passed the House but stalled in the Senate. What's actually stopping sweepstakes operators here?  Well, it is regulatory cease-and-desist pressure, not a law on the books.

Frequently asked questions

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