A Maryland legislator provided his peers with lessons on online casino bills

At a summer meeting for the National Council of Legislators in Gaming States, Senator Ron Watson had insightful comments. He helped lead a discussion about online casino legalization and was able to give quality information to those less knowledgeable about the topic. Watson claims that he would have done things differently if he were in charge. Senator Watson led the discussion to legalize online casinos with his peers in the Senate. Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary led the discussion in the House and her bill advanced to the Senate. Unfortunately, Watson ran into two key issues. There were concerts of problem gambling becoming an issue in Maryland and the potential of brick-and-mortar casino cannibalization. An online casino will require a public referendum and that means another effort will not take place until 2026.

Watson believes they need to run this legislation like a campaign

According to Senator Ron Watson, the legislation for online casino legislation needs to be run like a campaign. That involves educating the public and other legislators about what online casino legalization can do for Maryland. There will always be people who are skeptical of adding online casinos to their state. However, it’s up to Watson and his peers to educate others on how online casinos can be profitable. Watson mentioned how politicians running for office try to gather votes and educate the public on their policies. 

He believes the same must be done for online casinos to be legalized in Maryland. One of the issues that Watson ran into along the way was people being fearful of brick-and-mortar casino cannibalization. A study claimed that up to 26% of brick-and-mortar casino revenue could be lost if online casinos were legalized. That’s despite previous research debunking the assertion that revenue would be lost. Additionally, the NCLGS discussed iGaming tax for online casinos. Their model legislation will likely have a tax rate between 15% and 25%. However, Ron Watson wants a 55% tax rate in Maryland. Higher than New York’s 51%. Maryland residents would rather have the 15% to 25% tax rates in their state.