Laurel, Pimlico among facilities approved for sports betting in Maryland

Maryland’s racetracks and four standalone offtrack betting parlors will be eligible to offer sports betting under a law passed by the legislature this week just prior to the legislative session ending.

Maryland voters approved sports betting in a November referendum, and the law passed this week codifies which facilities will be able to bid on licenses. The bill is likely to be signed by Gov. Larry Hogan, who has indicated support for the bill in the past.

Under the bill, both Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, owned by 1/ST, the company formerly known as The Stronach Group, are among a number of locations designated for so-called Class A licenses, along with six casinos and Maryland’s three professional baseball and football stadiums. The license fee to operate a sports book under that class is $1 million for the first five years.

In addition, Maryland’s four OTB parlors have been designated for Class B licenses, which will cost $50,000 each. The OTB parlors are operated by partnerships that include 1/ST, the state’s horsemen, and the owners of the facilities in which off-track betting is offered.

Sal Sinatra, the president and general manager of 1/ST’s Maryland operations, said that the company intends to obtain a license for Laurel and Pimlico but that the company’s specific plans are currently being reviewed. Ideally, sports betting would begin to be offered at Laurel and Pimlico sometime this fall, Sinatra said.

“Right now everyone is a little hesitant,” Sinatra said. “One million is a lot of money, and I think it’s most people’s opinion that the margins aren’t that great.” Sinatra also said that 1/ST plans to have discussions with its OTB operating partners so that sports betting at the locations could “be operated under one banner.”

The bill also allows for the award of up to 60 mobile betting licenses.

Horse racing interests in states across the U.S. have pushed for inclusion in sports-betting legislation as a way to expand their wagering menus and compete with other locations that offer the bets. States were given the ability to authorize sports wagering due to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling.

The law will also allow fixed-odds bets on horse races in the state, provided that the practice is approved in an agreement that includes racetracks, the horsemen’s organization, the state breeders’ organization, and the Maryland Racing Commission. Sinatra said on Thursday that it was “too early to tell” if 1/ST planned to offer fixed odds on its races.

A separate bill passed late in the legislative session also amends the percentages that some casinos in the state pay into a fund providing for racing subsidies, called the Purse Dedication Account. The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has estimated that the changes will net the account an additional $5 million a year.

In a bill passed last year, the state’s racing industry was given the ability to use money from the account to underwrite its portion of the interest on state bonds that will be used to fund the rebuilding of both Pimlico and Laurel. Due to the pandemic, the rebuilding plans have been in a state of limbo.