In Maryland, voters will go to the polls in November and decide if sports betting should be legal in their state. There are arguments on both sides of the aisle concerning where the proceeds from legalized sports betting will go.
The actual initiative that voters will decide on reads as “Commercial Gaming Expansion Referendum.” Voters will be asked if they approve of a gambling extension that would include sports betting. The wording on the ballot indicates that the money generated from sports betting “Old Line State” is slated to be used to increase the revenue in the education system.
If people want to make a sports bet on an upcoming football game between Washington and the Los Angeles Rams, they would have to go to nearby D.C. and make their bets through the William Hill sportsbook. However, that could all change in a few weeks when voters decide.
Maryland Voters Polled On Legalized Sports Betting
One of those who has recently been polled is Reno Stevens, who lives in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Stevens was asked to elaborate on his opinion as he stood in line in D.C. to make a legal sports bet.
Stevens said, “Sometimes these lines are an hour and a half, we could be doing the same thing across the bridge. This is all so silly, and we as a state could really benefit from the proceeds sports betting can bring in.”
Several Maryland lawmakers have been very frustrated with the entire process of getting sports betting on the ballot. Some lawmakers are concerned about where the proceeds are going exactly and want their specific interests to get some of the money. Maryland Democratic Delegate Eric Luedtke has tried to throw a monkey wrench into the entire proceedings.
Luedtke was elected in 2010 to represent District 14 in Montgomery County and is a powerful voice in that state as the House Majority Leader. He said, “We’re missing out on $30 to $40 million in revenue that we can spend on schools and that we don’t have to get from tax dollars.”
Wording on the Ballot
The second part of the sports betting initiative on the Maryland ballot asks, “Do you approve the expansion of commercial gaming in the state of Maryland to authorize sports betting for the primary purpose of raising revenue for education?”
If this portion of the initiative passes, the fine details will still have to be worked out by the state legislator. Luedtke was behind that second part of the initiative to be added to the ballot. It wasn’t a point that everyone agreed with, but he was able to get it on the ballot.
He said, “If it passes, it’s etched in stone, that the money will go towards education.” The President of Live Casino in Maryland, Rob Norton, is strongly encouraging voters to give their approval to schools seeing some of the profits from sports betting.
Norton said, “It is time to pass sports betting, all our neighboring states have it up and running, and we are losing huge amounts of money here until we can get it up and running.”
