Maryland’s legislative session ended Monday, and online casinos weren’t legalized. The news doesn’t come as a major surprise, as Sen. Ron Watson told US Bets last week that Maryland online casino legalization efforts failed in 2024.

The topic will likely come up again in 2025 and beyond, and the same discussion points that dominated 2024 conversations will surely be critical again. A couple key concerns about gambling expansion torpedoed legalization hopes in 2024.

...

Lawmakers have been inundated with information from different sides of the aisle as it relates to casino cannibalization. Those against online casino legalization are adamant that mobile casinos would lead to job loss at the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos.

Some business owners who operate near casinos say that their bottom line could be negatively impacted by online casinos.

“Marylanders in every region of the state, Republicans and Democrats alike, are united in their opposition of iGaming and iLottery,” Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Association, said in a press release. “These policies would negatively impact not only the gaming and lottery industries, but also every community that benefits from their local economic stimulation.”

Click here to read the full article from US Bets.