During the consideration of two gaming measures, Maryland lawmakers heard comprehensive testimony and asked equally detailed questions, but neither bill was put to a vote in committee. 
Betfred departure from Baltimore's Inner Harbour 
On Tuesday, March 11, the House Ways and Means Committee held a two-part hearing. There was no progress on a bill that would make sweepstakes illegal or another bill that would enable historical horse racing machines at Maryland OTBs. 

The committee was supposed to vote again on Wednesday morning, but as of late Tuesday night, neither bill was on the agenda. This session, Maryland's legislature has not enacted any bills to expand gambling. So yet, the house and senate committees have not moved forward with a bill to make online casinos lawful. There is a stalemate because lawmakers and stakeholders can't agree on whether or not to make it legal. 

On March 7, a Senate committee did move forward with SB 860, which would make sweepstakes systems illegal. The platforms are not regulated right now, and the businesses who run them don't have to pay taxes to the state. Casino companies think they shouldn't be allowed. 

Promotions are used by sweeps much like they are by McDonald's. 
People that support sweepstakes said in court that their platforms are already lawful in the state. They also said that HB 1140, which would make them illegal, would also make online casinos illegal and could have unexpected effects. 

Josh White from KO Public Affairs spoke for VGW, an Australian-based sweepstakes operator. He said that the games are "just like Candy Crush," the well-known online tile game. That game and sweepstakes website are both "always free to play," but players can buy "game tokens for enhanced play." He said that VGW employs "promotions in the same way that McDonald's or Microsoft does," such sweepstakes, as a strategy to sell itself. 

Brad Rifkin, who was speaking for Light and Wonder, stated, "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck." It's a game that's against the law. 

Rifkin said that the illegal market in Maryland is about $6 billion. This probably covers games that aren't regulated, including sweepstakes, as well as internet casinos and sportsbooks that are based outside the US. 

Is the language of the sweeps-ban law too broad? 
Attorney Jeff Ifrah, who spoke for the Social and Promotional Gaming Association, had the most interesting testimony. Some of the members are Fliff, Gold Coin Group, and Woopla Gaming. The SPGA is a trade group in the US, hence VGW and other overseas businesses are not members. 

Ifrah said that the Maryland business code 13-305 says that sweepstakes games are permitted. 

He then said that SB 860's language is so wide that it would clearly make online casinos illegal, but "the black market would remain illegal." He claimed the bill isn't needed and would "do away with something that is already legal." 

The argument got lawmakers' attention, and Ifrah spent a lot of time going over the present law, his clients' platforms, and how SB 860 may mean that even non-gambling corporations like McDonald's or Starbucks would have to stop running contests. 

Delegate Jason Buckle tried to make sense of it by declaring, "We need to stop companies from offering only online gaming, not games that are part of normal, legal consumer activities." "Could we do that?" 

OTBs require a second source of income. 
The second gaming bill looked at was HB 1048, which would let five OTBs around the state have HHR machines. Representatives from MGM and Penn Entertainment's Hollywood brand, two of the biggest casino firms, spoke against the legislation. But the OTBs argue that having the equipment is very important for their survival. 

Alyse Cohen, who owns Long Shot's OTB in Frederick, said, "We want to thrive, not just survive." She added that since sports betting debuted online in Maryland in November 2022, the handle has gone down by 33%. In-person betting started in December 2021, almost a year before this. 

Cohen stated, "We used to think that retail sports betting would give sales a much-needed boost." "We've seen all of sports betting go online instead." 

In states where digital sports betting is legal, 95% or more of the money originates from online bets instead of conventional sportsbooks. 

Leslie Feliz from the Greenville Consulting Group spoke on behalf of Chesapeake Gaming Group. She agreed with Cohen's point of view. 

She remarked, "At the base with retail sportsbooks, we thought there was going to be a sustainable profit." "The truth is that it's not working out, and online sports betting has made it very hard for Chesapeake Gaming to find a retail partner." 

When Maryland made sports betting legal, they also inserted a full clause for small businesses and minorities. The goal is to provide smaller businesses and businesses owned by minorities a chance to take part. But more people are betting online now. The OTBs, which are all smaller businesses than the casinos and some are owned by minorities, allege that the change has affected them. 

"Player experience is the same" at casinos 
Maryland's casino companies don't want HHR machines at the OTBs because they think they look like their slot machines. They also point out that the 15% HHR tax rate that has been suggested is much lower than what they pay. The American Gaming Association says that the tax rate on slot machines in Maryland varies from casino to casino, although most of them pay more than 40%. 

Some people who have a stake in the matter say that HHR machines are skill games instead of chance games. They say that the machines' insides are what matters. "All the bells and whistles don't matter," one person said. 

But Marta Harding, who works for MGM, which owns a casino in Baltimore, said that the difference in how the machines work doesn't matter when it comes to the bottom line. 

She said, "The way HHR machines work isn't really the problem." "The problem is the player experience, and the player experience is the same as on regular slot machines." 

"We don't think that's a good idea to make another competitor for Maryland's casinos," she said. "We have a great relationship with the state, and we don't think that any threat to that model, which has brought so much money to the education trust fund, is necessary right now."