The fiscal year for Maryland’s gaming industry is officially over, and Maryland Lottery officials are pleased.
“By all indications, it was another strong year,” Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin said in an interview with local radio station WNST.
Seth Elkin, Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency’s Managing Director of Communications, joined Martin in the same interview to break down some numbers.
“The lottery, the casinos, sports wagering and a little extra from daily fantasy sports all added up to $1.585 billion,” Elkin said.tbe
The Old Line State has one of the most robust gambling industries in the country. Lawmakers legalized a Maryland online sports betting industry; there are six retail casinos, horse racing, and a state lottery.
Maryland online casino legislation was in the pipeline during the last legislative session. However, it fell short of a vote. There is hope a bill could pass in 2026.
Martin and Elkin spoke on several topics, including cannibalization, where gambling money goes, an increase in hotline calls and more.
New gambling verticals didn’t lead to cannibalization, Maryland Lottery officials say
There’s been plenty of conversations around Maryland potentially expanding its gaming offerings, but a big fear has been cannibalization.
And that’s always been the fear, according to Elkton.
“The interesting thing is that every time there has been additional gambling added, that concern has always been there. If you go back to when casinos first started, people asked ‘How is this going to impact the lottery?'”
Elkton noted that the concern originally stemmed around Keno or scratch-off players leaving for casinos. Instead, he shared that they’ve seen rising, solid numbers as the state’s gambling space continues to evolve.
“What it tells you, I think, is that you’ve got separate audiences. You’ve got separate groups of people who are interested in sports wagering as opposed to sitting in a casino and playing casino games.”
According to Elkton, it’s important to remember that as many states legalize online sports betting or toy with the notion of online casinos, there’s still a demand for the retail experience.
“There’s not an expectation that people would gravitate toward online necessarily. It’s all about the experience and the player experience. It’s just like the (example of) Keno players and whether or not they’re being drawn to the casino. It’s about what you want out of the gaming experience? For some people, going to the sportsbook and going to the casino is the experience. They want to have that immersive experience of being in that atmosphere, rather than doing it on the phone. It just depends on how people want to experience it. For the sports wagering people, it seems as though that’s where the market is. People want to be able to have the flexibility as a game is in progress on their phone. But for other kinds of gaming, it remains to be seen whether that would necessarily be the way it goes.”
Cannibalization remains a concern with online casinos
There’s a chance when Elkton spoke about “other kinds of gaming,” he could have been alluding to online casino gaming.
Maryland’s casinos weren’t all on board with legalizing the online space earlier this year. Four of the state’s six brick-and-mortar operations were in favor, but two were against the legislation: Ocean Downs Casino & Racetrack and Live! Casino.
They believed online casino gaming would hurt their bottom line, similar to how Amazon has seemingly led to the reduction of malls across America.
Additionally, casino employees (even of those in favor) spoke about how they feared this cannibalization would result in job loss.
Studies show that the assumption that online casino gaming would wipe out retail operations isn’t as real as it seems. iDevelopment and Economic Association and Eilers & Krejcik Gaming released a study showing that online casinos actually boost revenue at their land-based counterparts.
Some industry experts, such as gaming law and sports betting attorney Daniel Wallach, proposed retail casinos guaranteeing jobs if they wanted to secure an online gambling license. Maryland could revisit those conversations and consider that option.
Where does money from Maryland’s gaming industry go?
It goes to a variety of different areas.
“When we win, the entire state of Maryland wins,” Martin said. “Clearly, all the beneficiaries — whether it’s our lottery progams, our casino compliance programs, our sports wagering programs — they all feed various and beneficiaries. It’s education, public health, public safety, the environment, local impact grants, you name it.”
Martin explained that on the lottery side, the majority of that profit went to the state’s general fund. From there, it went to a number of different programs.
Casino gaming dollars go toward the state’s education trust fund and a few other areas.
“This year, it was over $824 million,” Martin said. “The majority of that went to the education trust fund. But money from casino gaming also goes to local community impact grants in jurisdictions where the casinos reside. It also goes to the small, minority and women-owned businesses program. Some money also goes to fund problem gambling support for services to aid and help families who are affected by gaming disorders.”
He added that with sports wagering, funds go to Maryland’s Future Fund.
Hotline calls on the rise, along with responsible gaming measures
Martin said that Maryland’s problem gambling helpline has seen an uptick in calls. But it’s not necessarily due to a growing number of problem gamblers.
“Some of the things Seth and I see, anecdotally, is that initially, people are quick to think that if there’s an increase in calls, these are the people who all of a sudden started gambling when sports wagering came. Not only is that not the case, but it’s also family and friends. When we get more calls into the hotline, it’s not necessarily the person (with the addiction). That’s probably the least likely (option). It’s a family member or someone affected by it who may not have been aware (before).”
One of the positives about the helpline is that it’s available for anyone to call. It’s not just for gamblers; their friends or family members can also call and seek help.
“I’d be hesitant to draw a direct line between increased calls meaning an increase in the problem gambling population,” Martin said.
Maryland residents are urged to call 1-800-GAMBLER for counseling, treatment and self-help. The phone number will direct residents to a 24-hour helpline.
