Maryland poker has been offered at casinos since 2012, when table games were introduced. However, Maryland online poker for real money isn’t legal. Players can, however, play poker online at social and sweepstakes casinos.
This page offers an overview of all your legal poker options in Maryland. That includes information about the rooms at the state’s retail casinos, details on online poker sweepstakes, and answers to other common questions about poker in Maryland.
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Is online poker legal in Maryland?
No. That circumstance could eventually change, however.
No fewer than four states that border Maryland today have legal online poker: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia. Those states also have legal real money online casinos. As lawmakers see the revenue from expanded Maryland gambling options, they, too, may soon consider legalizing online poker. A proposed online gambling bill wants to leave the decision up to voters in a 2024 referendum.
You might encounter real money online poker sites that advertise themselves to players from Maryland, but these sites do not operate within Maryland or US laws or regulations. Because such sites are either regulated elsewhere or not regulated at all, Maryland players who encounter problems while playing on them generally have no legal recourse. If you encounter any problems with game integrity or the security of your funds or personal info, there is no guarantee the sites will respond.
Maryland Statute 12-102 combines general prohibitions against “betting, wagering, [and] gambling” with subsequent sections outlining specific types of illegal gambling. While it doesn’t specifically discuss online poker, it’s safe to say the law offers no legal sanction to online poker players or sites in Maryland, providing another reason for Marylanders to avoid offshore poker sites.
This means that Maryland poker players looking for a game online have only one real option: social and sweepstakes poker sites.
Online social and sweepstakes poker in Maryland
Social and sweepstakes casinos are popular throughout the country. These sites allow players to play casino games online for fun and entertainment. The sites use virtual currencies rather than real money and sometimes offer options to play for real cash prizes.
The most popular sweepstakes online poker site is Global Poker. The site serves nearly every US state, including Maryland, inviting players to try various games using virtual currencies. Depending on your mode of play, you may be able to redeem winnings for cash prizes.
Ring games and tournaments on Global Poker
Global Poker hosts regular ring games (aka cash games) and a selection of sit and go’s and multi-table tournaments. Since the site serves players in nearly every US state, the fields for tournaments can grow quite big, making the prize pools large.
As on other online poker sites, you’ll find No Limit Texas Hold’em as the most popular variant. However, the site also features Pot Limit Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo games and the hold’em variant Crazy Pineapple, in which players start with three hole cards instead of two. There is also Surge Poker, a “fast-fold” variant only available to play online. And the site has Caribbean Poker, a casino table game favorite.
As noted, multi-table tournaments are especially popular. There are several regular daily and weekly tournaments such as the Daily Hundo and the Sunday Scrimmage. The site hosts frequent tournament series like the Grizzly Games, the Eagle Cup and the Rattlesnake Open. There are seasonal series, too, such as the Summer Ring Dash and the Spring Carnival.
Creating a Global Poker account is a simple, quick and free process. You can play games for free, as well, or can purchase additional Gold Coins with which to play. Many Gold Coin purchases also include free Sweeps Coins. And if you play using Sweeps Coins, you can redeem your winnings for cash prizes.
Different types of poker games to play in Maryland
You’ll find a variety of poker variants at Maryland poker rooms:
- No Limit Texas Hold’em — The “Cadillac of Poker” is the most common game in Maryland poker rooms.
- Limit Texas Hold’em — You can also find fixed-limit hold’em for low stakes.
- Pot Limit Omaha — The hold’em variant in which you receive four hole cards and use two to form your hand.
- Five-Card Omaha — A twist on regular Omaha in which you receive five hole cards, though you still can only use two to make your hand.
- Five-Card Omaha Hi-Lo — A split-pot version in which you can compete for both the “high” and “low” half of the pot.
- Seven-Card Stud — Some rooms offer this stud variant, though hold’em has largely supplanted it in popularity.
You may also find Maryland poker rooms offering other variants. MGM National Harbor, for example, advertises that “multiple forms of draw poker are also available upon request,” meaning as long as there are enough players who want to play a particular variant, the room can deal it.
Maryland poker rooms
Maryland voters approved casinos in 2008, and the first opened two years later. It wasn’t until 2012, however, that casinos could offer table games, thanks to another favorable referendum vote. There are now six Maryland casinos, four of which have live poker rooms:
- Hollywood Casino Perryville — The poker room at Hollywood is modest in size, with five tables featuring daily tournaments and jackpots for high hands and bad beats. Open daily at 10 a.m. until the last table breaks.
- Horseshoe Baltimore — The WSOP Poker Room features 22 tables (eight-handed) spreading cash games, daily tournaments, satellites into World Series of Poker events and more. There are high hand and aces cracked promotions. Open 24/7.
- Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland — The Live! Poker Room is the largest in the state, with 50 tables with an eight-handed maximum. Cash games are always running, and there are at least two daily tournaments in various formats, including popular “mystery bounty” events. There are multiple high hand promotions as well. The casino hosts the Mid Atlantic Poker Open each January. Open 24/7.
- MGM National Harbor — Located on the casino’s second floor, the poker room currently has 37 tables, although it can add more up to 45. Like other Maryland rooms, tables play eight-handed and feature cash games and daily tournaments Saturday through Wednesday. Promotions include high-hand jackpots, lucky tables (in which players at random tables win cash prizes), and Let it Ride (another high-hand promotion with an option to accept the current jackpot or take a chance to win the following session’s jackpot as well). The casino hosts the Potomac Winter Poker Open in January each year. Open 24/7.
Major poker tournament series in Maryland
Since 2012, the Maryland poker circuit has drawn various tours and events.
World Series of Poker Circuit
Over the years, the WSOP Circuit has made numerous stops at Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, home of a WSOP-branded poker room. The stops usually consist of a dozen WSOP ring events, including a $1,700 buy-in main event that usually features a big guaranteed prize pool ($500,000, for example).
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour has made multiple stops at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland over recent years. The stops involve a substantial tournament series of over 20 events, including a $3,500 main event that counts as an official WPT Main Tour event from which winners join the WPT Champions Club. The event at Live! Maryland has featured prize pools exceeding $1.5 million before.
The World Poker Tour has made WPTDeepStacks stops at Live! Maryland, as well.
Maryland State Championship
Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland has hosted the Maryland State Poker Championship several times. Typically, the tournament series takes place in January and features around two dozen events. Most recently, the series has been culminating with a $2,200 buy-in main event featuring a guarantee of $300,000.
Maryland poker FAQ
What is the minimum age to play poker in Maryland?
Anyone wishing to play poker in any of the Maryland casinos must be at least 21 years old.
If online poker becomes legal in Maryland, who will regulate it?
The Maryland Lottery, particularly the State Lottery & Gaming Control Agency, oversees all legal gambling in the state. Should online gambling become legal, including online poker, the same agency would likely act as the regulatory body.
If I am in Maryland, can I play online poker in other states where it is legal?
No. You can legally play online poker in states where it is legal — nearby options are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia — but you have to be in one of those states to do so. In other words, if you want to play at PokerStars PA, you must be in Pennsylvania. You don’t have to be a Pennsylvania resident to get an account or to play, but you do have to be within state lines.
Online poker sites in the US use geolocation technology to ensure players are inside a legal state when they play real money cash games and tournaments.
Are home poker games legal in Maryland?
In 2016, Maryland lawmakers formally legalized home poker games. Previously, hosting a poker game could result in a fine and up to one year in prison, but that was no longer the case once HB 127 went into effect on Oct. 1, 2016.
According to the law, anyone 21 or older may host a poker game if the host abides by certain stipulations. Those include not hosting a game more than once per week, not charging fees and ensuring the game “has a $1,000 limit on the total amount of money … that may be wagered by all players during a 24-hour period.” That latter guideline typically means there cannot be more than $1,000 total in play (i.e., “on the table”) at any given time during the game.
While the law applies to poker, it also technically covers any card game and mahjong.
Does Maryland still have charity poker rooms?
No. Charity poker rooms were once legal in Prince George’s County, just east of Washington, DC, and including the Washington metropolitan area. The rooms frequently courted controversy, with some having to shut down for failing to pay taxes or other violations. Accusations of corruption and embezzlement of funds were frequent, with some alleging “less than a quarter of the proceeds ever went to charity.”
Lawmakers eventually had enough, and in 1995, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to shut down the poker rooms. A two-year grace period followed, and by 1997, all of the rooms had closed.
Today, Maryland allows some forms of charitable gaming, including bingo and raffles, but not poker.