By Brian Shane

Staff Writer

(March 19, 2026) Proposed state legislation that would let Maryland’s licensed casinos expand their operations into gambling apps for smartphones appears to be stalling ahead of an important deadline for the 2026 legislative session.

Two bills to enact internet gaming, or “iGaming,” had been pending this session of the General Assembly in Annapolis. The first (SB 761) would authorize an Election Day referendum. A companion bill (SB 885) outlining the nuts-and-bolts procedures for iGaming would only take effect if voters approved the referendum. Both were sponsored by Sen. Ron Watson.

However, Watson (D-23, Prince George’s) on March 13 withdrew the referendum bill. His second procedural bill is still alive. Watson did not respond to a request for comment for this report, and he hasn’t publicly explained why he pulled the bill.

Companion bills on the House side were heard March 5 by the Ways and Means Committee. Lower Shore Del. Wayne Hartman (R-38C, Worcester), who sits on Ways and Means, said he anticipates that iGaming legislation will not pass this session.

Because it’s an election year, Hartman said “nothing that’s controversial” is likely to pass and noted how the governor’s proposed budget doesn’t include tax increases to generate new revenue.

“I feel pretty confident there’s not an appetite for it this year,” he said of iGaming.

“My concern is, really, next year, after the election, when our deficit continues to grow, what are we going to see to quench the thirst of the majority party here to spend money?”

As legislators continue to find solutions to the state’s $1.5 billion budget shortfall, iGaming could generate $1.3 billion in revenue within six years of implementation, according to a state legislative analysis.

If passed, the enabling legislation would grant Maryland’s six licensed casinos – including Ocean Downs in Berlin – the right to obtain a “mobile gaming license” to create digital versions of games typically found in a physical casino like poker, blackjack, roulette, and baccarat.

It also says casinos could lease their license to established platforms like DraftKings or FanDuel that already run wildly popular gambling apps.

However, Ocean Downs has come out in opposition to the bills. Bobbi Jones, general manager of Ocean Downs, last week said that iGaming would threaten the casino’s 350 jobs and may fuel new gambling addictions.

“We know that if this law passes, it’s not just going to affect us, but it’s going to affect our community, by taxes, tourism – which we rely on heavily on the Eastern Shore,” she told a Senate committee March 11 in Annapolis.

The Worcester County Commissioners also oppose the iGaming proposal, saying that Ocean Downs is a major tourist draw that can’t afford to lose brick-and-mortar gaming customers to screens.

Another upcoming deadline may sideline the iGaming proposal anyway.

Over the course of the Maryland General Assembly’s 90-day session, the milepost known as “Crossover Day” is critical. If a bill doesn’t make it out of committee by then, it falls into legislative purgatory. This year, Crossover Day comes this Monday, March 23.

While any bill isn’t technically dead until the session’s final day (or “Sine Die” in Latin) on April 13, in reality, missing Crossover Day is typically a fatal blow for any bill.

State legislators are considering several bills relating to gambling this session, including an expansion of slot machines onto historical racetrack properties and off-track betting parlors.

Other bills would beef up enforcement power by state officials to go after illegal offshore gambling sites and would increase funds earmarked for the state’s Problem Gambling Fund.